Alabama Voters Need IDs
or Friend-‘dentity’
By Zenitha Prince
Senior AFRO Correspondent
Part 6 in a series detailing
states’ efforts to keep citizens

AFRO
Unveiling
NewlyRedesigned
Website
June 9

Michael Jackson impersonator entertains at the Pep Rally for Peace in the Streets
By Maria Adebola
Special to the AFRO

Story on A3

Wikimedia Commons

from voting.

Join the 272,134
Facebook fans who
follow the AFRO, the
Black newspaper
with the largest
digital reach in the
country.

As Alabama voters trudged
to the polls on June 3, many
stepped into a new elections
landscape, while for others,
the view was all too familiar.
In 2011, after Republicans

took control of the state
Legislature, they introduced
laws that, some say,
harken back to the days of
segregation, including laws
that suppress the votes of
minorities and the poor.
Continued on A4

• Walmart

Story on A4

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Physicians Caught in the Middle
of Medical Marijuana Debate
By Valencia Mohammed
Special to the AFRO

03

47105 21847

Black history-makers, local community leaders and emerging pacesetters were fêted May 31
during a celebratory ceremony held in Washington, D.C., across from the Howard Theatre on the
600 block of T St. NW.
Live music, a cornucopia of enticing foods and a plethora of retail wares served as a backdrop
to the ceremony, during which local nonprofit Pep Rally for Peace in the Streets (PRPIS)
awarded current and future community leaders. PRPIS was founded by Garry Clark Sr. in 2005
to spotlight the positive message of African-American legacy in the community and to advocate
for peace. And, the organization set aside the last Saturday of May to acknowledge those who
were contributing to that legacy.
“I wanted to organize an event that would celebrate Black history outside of Black History
Month,” Clark said about the event.
The Past, Present, and Future Black History Maker Crispus Attucks, Martin Luther King Jr.
Community Civic Service Award was bestowed to Mayor Vincent Gray.
“The award is given to individuals who have committed 50 or more years of community
Continued on A3

A Journalist Remembers
an Audience with Maya

INSERT

7

Pep Rally
for Peace in
the Streets
Celebrates Past, Present
and Future History Makers

2

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Twitter and Facebook

While 21 states and the
District of Columbia have
passed legislation legalizing
the use of marijuana for
medical purposes, the
federal government has
not. The federal regulations
and political debates leave
hospitals, physicians, and
patients vulnerable.
In D.C., 3,730 patient
recommendation forms were
distributed to physicians,
but only 113 physicians
showed interest in the medical
marijuana program. Of
that number, according to
the Department of Health
media spokesperson Najma
Roberts, only 56 doctors are
participating.
Dr. Patrick Fasusi, a pain
specialist and anesthesiologist
for over 35 years, said
the disparity in local and
federal laws is one of the
impediments facing medical
providers interested in
participating. “My colleagues

fear clamping down by the
government,” said Fasusi.
“Many physicians work in
hospitals. They are not going
to jeopardize the hospital’s
licensing or accreditation as
long as the issue of medicinal
marijuana is illegal with the
federal government.
“Those who are solo,
like myself, are susceptible
to federal audits. No one
wants the type of scrutiny
that will come with
prescribing patients medicinal
marijuana.”
Fasusi said he knows
the criteria. “I examine my
patients and every supporting
document very carefully to
qualify them for treatment.
It is also very important to
obtain the patient’s oral and
written history,” Fasusi said.
Sometimes, the results are
not what the patient wants. “If
for whatever reasons, I don’t
think the patient qualifies
for this type of treatment,
I will inform [the patient].
There may be other forms of
Continued on A3

Black Press Icon
Ray H. Boone Sr.,
Dead at 76
By Zenitha Prince
Senior AFRO Correspondent
Raymond H. Boone Sr., a
towering figure in the Black
Press and founder, editor and
publisher of the influential
Richmond Free Press has
died. He was 76.
Boone died June 3 at his
home after a months-long
battle with pancreatic cancer,
his family told the media.
The Suffolk, Va. native
obtained a bachelor’s degree
in journalism from Boston
University and a master’s
degree in political science
from Howard University,
where he later taught
journalism for nine years.
The majority of Boone’s
career was spent in the Black
Press, and Time magazine
once credited him with
bringing “sophistication and
Continued on A3

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — An ex-Marine on Friday was
sentenced to death for the 2009 murder of a Navy sailor at a
barracks in northern Virginia.
The sentencing of Jorge Torrez, 25, of Zion, Illinois, was a
formality. A jury last month decided unanimously to impose the
death penalty for the murder of Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class
Amanda Snell, 20, at Joint
Base Myer-Henderson Hall.
Federal law gave U.S.
District Judge Liam O’Grady
no option to deviate from the
jury’s decision.
It was only the second time
the sentence has been imposed
at the federal courthouse in
Alexandria since the federal
death penalty was reinstated
in 1988.
The last was in 2007,
when drug dealer Thomas
Arlington County, Va. Police Morocco Hager was convicted
Department/AP Photo of stabbing a single mother
82 times and leaving her in a
Jorge Torrez is an exMarine sentenced to death bathtub to be found dead by
her 1-year-old daughter.
for murdering a fellow
Friday’s brief hearing in a
service member in 2009.
half-empty courtroom, with
Torrez in shackles and a green
prison jumpsuit, gave a perfunctory conclusion to what had
been an emotional trial, in which jurors heard how Snell, a Las
Vegas native, had been found stuffed in a wall locker in her
room. Torrez lived in the same barracks, a few doors down.
In the trial’s sentencing phase, jurors also held Torrez
responsible for the slayings of 8-year-old Laura Hobbs and
9-year-old Krystal Tobias in Torrez’s hometown of Zion.
Laura’s father, Jerry Hobbs, was originally charged in that case
and spent five years in custody until the DNA evidence pointed
to Torrez. Hobbs said he was coerced into a false confession.
Torrez was only 16 when the girls were killed.
Snell’s murder had also gone unsolved for several years. It
was not until after police in Arlington arrested Torrez in 2010
for a series of violent, stalking attacks on women — including
one in which a woman was abducted, repeatedly raped, choked
and left for dead — that DNA evidence led authorities to
Torrez in the deaths of Snell and the two girls.
Torrez’s lawyers said Friday that their client will appeal
his conviction. That had been
uncertain. After he was found
guilty, Torrez ordered his
lawyers to make no effort on
his behalf during the trial’s
sentencing phase.
Robert Jenkins, one of
Torrez’s lawyers, said his
client’s rationale has not
changed and that he maintains
that his innocence, but prefers
a death sentence to life in
prison without parole.
Washington Afro American
(DCWA02)
June 5, 2014

By Courtney Jacobs
A New Jersey man has
been sentenced to life in prison
for killing his 2-year-old
daughter by throwing her into
a creek while she was strapped
into a car seat tied to a tire
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N.J. Father
Sentenced to
Life in Prison
for Killing
2-Year-Old
Daughter

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CLIENT:
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A2

jack in November 2011.
Arthur Morgan III’s relationship with his daughter’s mother
did not end well and he wanted to rob her of the “most precious
thing in her life,” according to the prosecution.
In court on May 28, Morgan, of Monmouth County,
apologized, but not for killing his daughter.
“I want to say I’m sorry for the deterioration of what I
thought was a beautiful friendship between the two of us that
blossomed into a daughter,” Morgan told Imani Benton, the
toddler’s mother. “For anybody that was truly affected by this,
I hope we can all heal from this situation, knowing Tierra is in
a better place.”
However, Benton did not feel Morgan’s sympathy and
wants him to suffer in prison.
“I don’t understand why she was taken from me,” Benton
told the Huffington Post. “It does give me peace to know that
she is in Heaven with God,
and [Morgan] will pay for
what he did to her, to me
and to everyone else. No
good will come to him.”
Judge Anthony Mellaci
Jr. noted before handing
down his sentence that New
Jersey had abolished the
death penalty.
AP Photo
“You’d be candidate
Arthur
Morgan
III
was
No. 1 for its imposition,”
found guilty last month of
Mellaci told Morgan in
murdering his 2-year-old
court. “Your actions were
daughter Tierra.
horrific, unthinkable and
appalling.”
Morgan inexplicably insisted that he was a good father
when asked to explain his actions, which resulted in last
month’s murder conviction.
“This child was alive when she was placed in the water
in pitch darkness, and had to suffer the unthinkable action of
having water rush in and fill her lungs while strapped into that
car seat,” the judge said according to The Associated Press.
“This child suffered before she died.”

By Maria Adebola
First lady Michelle Obama opposes a proposal advanced
by House Republicans that would exempt some school
districts from following
federal mandated nutrition
guidelines passed in 2010.
The Healthy, HungerFree Kids Act of 2010 which
the first lady championed
during its legislative path
through Congress, calls
for a reduction in sodium,
AP Photo
fat, calories, and sugar,
First lady Michelle Obama
but requires an increase
speaks to school leaders and
in whole grains, fresh
experts surrounding school
fruits, and vegetables
nutrition.
in school lunches. The
legislation allowed the U.S.
Department of Agriculture
to reform school lunch and breakfast program guidance
with choices aimed at improving critical nutrition levels and
creating a hunger safety net for children.
While House Republicans claim the proposal would be a
one-year waiver for schools that are having financial trouble
meeting the new food standards, the first lady described
the notion as “unacceptable” and accused Republicans of
legislative moves that threaten the health of school children
nationwide.
She told a group of school nutrition experts last week “the
last thing we can afford to do is play politics with our kids
health,” according to the Connecticut Mirror, a nonprofit,
nonpartisan news outlet.
See more at afro.com.

June 7, 2014 - June 13, 2014, The Afro-American

A3

New and Improved AFRO.com Debuts June 9
By Talibah Chikwendu
Special to the AFRO
When AFRO.com went online in 1994, it became one of the
first 18 newspaper websites in the country and the first from
a Black publication. Since then, AFRO.com has grown and
changed, while providing its audience with quality content.
The last website update went live in 2008 with a new content
management system, structured to help the AFRO take the next
steps in the company’s online evolution.
After about four years, the website system was making it
hard for the AFRO to do new things. “As technology changed,”
AFRO President Benjamin Phillips said, “we were not able to
keep up with it at a fast pace.
“It was a two year project to identify the right partner. We
were fortunate to find Eminent-IT, who took our requirements
and developed a custom solution using leading-edge
technology.”
Eminent-IT, founded by post 9/11 Marine Corps veteran

“We’re ready to fly. … Our audience is in for
a royal treat.”
– John “Jake” Oliver Jr.
Jose Risi and Isaac Barnes with the mission to “assist their
clients with implementing innovative solutions that bring them
closer to their strategic vision,” conducted a comprehensive
review of the AFRO. Armed with that information and the
expressed needs of the AFRO’s web and management teams,
Barnes said, “Our goal was to completely revamp AFRO’s
digital experience with a flat design that embraces simplicity,

clarity, and flexibility.”
They did. The new,
improved, and ready to fly
AFRO.com launches on
June 9.
“We are extremely
excited about the
possibility,” said CEO
and Publisher John
“Jake” Oliver Jr. “We are
extremely excited about
learning things we don’t
know. We’re going to
have fun, but that is all
part of finding out and
understanding what our
followers want.”
The new site has
several features that will
ultimately translate to a
better user experience
and exciting presentations
for the AFRO’s audience.
According to Phillips, these include increased responsiveness,
automatic formatting to accommodate a variety of user
interfaces – mobile, tablet, and a multitude of computer
browsers – and the ability to change the look of the site “on the
fly.” He said, “It takes the shackles off of our creativity.”
Oliver added, “We are going to be able to change … any
time, any day, any way we want to.”
“What it means for the audience,” Phillips said, “is getting
rich content quickly and a greater integration with social media.
It opens the door for us to do things we haven’t thought of yet.
It will allow us to continue to grow into the future.”

A big goal of this project is to improve the reader’s
experience, so the AFRO is hoping for user feedback. “We
welcome comments,” Phillips said, “and plan to be continually
improving. I can’t wait, and what you see on the 9th is only the
beginning.”
Oliver said, “We’re ready to fly. … Our audience is in for a
royal treat.
-tchikwendu@afro.com
Christian Rogers contributed to this article.

Pep Rally

Continued from A1

service to our city and to the citizens,” said Clark.
U.S. Rep. Eleanor Norton Holmes (D-D.C.) and
Councilmember Marion Barry were also recipients of the
award.
“We felt that Marion Barry as well as Congresswoman
Norton, who have devoted 70 years or more of Black community
service to the citizens of our country and the District, needed to
be recognized,” Clark said. “They are people who have made
history and continue to set the pace for us to follow.”
Gray briefly spoke about the importance of passing the
leadership torch to African-American youth, and applauded
Clark for his staunch dedication to the community.
“This is a labor of love for Gary Clark,” said the mayor to
the audience. “I want to thank Gary for what he does for our

city every day.”
The Black History Maker Outstanding Village Member award
was presented to Joe Green and Maggie Deville, the oldest living
Black cowboy and cowgirl in the metropolitan area.
D.C. resident Breanna Swinton, who recently graduated
from Delaware State College, was acknowledged for staying
focused in her education and striving to become a future
history-maker in the community.
PRPIS, under the umbrella of Power Jam Music Alliance
(PJMA), serves the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia
area, advocating youth, young adult and senior citizen
empowerment.
“We are a grassroots nonprofit organization, who is just
trying to serve the community as God wants us to do,” said

Clark.
Beyond the history-makers’ awards, the organization’s
signature program focuses on feeding the homeless in addition
to raising awareness on the rising number of homeless youth
in D.C. In addition, PRPIS helps residents, including returning
citizens, with job placements and community service, working
with many different agencies.
Now in its ninth year, Pep Rally for Peace in the Streets
Feed the Homeless has fed more than 10,000 people, including
the 900 persons that were fed last year. In the District alone,
according to a recent report by the Metropolitan Council of
Governments, about 7,748 individuals were literally homeless
in D.C., according to a January count.
-madebola@afro.com

Physicians Caught

Continued from A1

treatment to help them,” Fasusi said.
Shawnta Hopkins, founder of the MMJ
Medical Marijuana Advocates Group, said the
structure and content of the law presents many
challenges to their clients and physicians.
Her family-owned business educates clients,
refers to doctors, and assists in preparing
for Department of Health approval. “Many
participating doctors will only refer their
established patients. Others want new clients
to pay as much as $700 cash for an extensive
examination to determine if they qualify. Lowincome clients don’t have that kind of money.
Many physicians are not willing to take the
risks associated with the program, so the high
fees are a deterrent [for patient requests].”
Hopkins said many physicians want the
patients to stay with them for six months trying
other prescriptions drugs before referring them
for medical marijuana. “Physicians don’t want

to be known as the ‘marijuana doctor.’”
The feds have been coming down hard on
medical marijuana practice because it is still
a grey area. It’s not clear what can and cannot

stories and step out of the shadows, the more
politicians and citizens are going to see that
they are not drug addicts, but simply people
using marijuana as medicine to treat their

“My colleagues fear clamping down by the government.”
– Dr. Patrick Fasusi
be done.
U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore)
recently introduced a bill to legalize
medical marijuana. It was voted down. But
representatives from his office said public
momentum is growing in support of the
measure. “The more that those who are
benefitting from medical marijuana tell their

conditions,” said Patrick Malone, media
specialist for Rep. Blumenauer.
In June, the African Wholistic Health
Association Inc. (AWHA) and Abacus 6 are
hosting an event in the District with worldrenown herbalist Dr. Sebi to discuss, among
other topics, the medicinal qualities of
marijuana. “Marijuana’s universal usages have

been proven through time with many cultures
to heal ailments. The herb is from God’s
medical pharmacy,” said Dr. Kokayi Patterson,
AWHA executive director of and a detox
specialist for 40 years in the field of substance
abuse. “It’s time to stop holding Americans
hostage to the pharmaceutical companies when
there are herbal and alternative remedies that
are proven more effective.”
To accomplish that, changing the mindset
on Capitol Hill is crucial. “We don’t expect
federal marijuana prohibition to end by 2016,
but it certainly will not be long after that. In the
meantime, Congressman Blumenauer and his
allies are going to continue making incremental
progress where they can on areas of consensus
like more access for medical researchers to
marijuana, and more support for veterans who
need medical marijuana,” Malone said.
-vmohammed@afro.com

Ray Boone

Continued from A1
verve” to that cadre.
Before joining Howard’s
faculty, Boone did a stint
as editor and vice president
of the Baltimore-based
Afro-American Newspaper
Group. As a correspondent
for the National Newspaper
Publishers Association, a
consortium of Black-owned
newspapers, Boone filed
reports from Germany,
Finland, the former Soviet
Union, Israel and Cuba.
According to his bio, he
also was a reporter for
the Norfolk Journal and
Guide, and amassed daily
reporting experience with
the Massachusetts Quincy
Patriot-Ledger and the Suffolk
News-Herald.
Boone founded the Free
Press in 1992, and for the
next 22 years, it amassed
many accolades for its
crusading, un-cowed coverage

of issues affecting the
African-American community
and for its shaping of political
discourse in Richmond.
Black Enterprise magazine
once hailed Boone’s brand of
journalism as a model for the
survival of Black newspapers
in America, according to the
newspaper’s website.
For example, last year the
newspaper made headlines
when Boone announced it
would no longer use the
name “Redskins” to refer
to Washington, D.C.’s
professional football team,
saying the name was “racist.”
“We decided that because
it is an insulting name, it is
an outrageous name and as
a city we should not become
acclimated to the outrageous,”
Boone said at the time.
While serving as a
Pulitzer Prize juror on two
separate occasions, his bio

Ray Boone with some of his many awards.
added, he spearheaded a
successful effort that resulted
in the placement of AfricanAmericans and women on the
Pulitzer Board at Columbia
University.
Richmond Mayor Dwight
C. Jones, a neighbor, called
Boone a “crusader” and
“a personality who was an
integral part of our city.”
“His stalwart support for
the black community, for
economic justice and fairness
paved the way for change in
so many ways,” Jones said in
a statement. “Week after week,

he offered many a window into
the world of black Richmond.
He provided visibility for
people who might otherwise be
invisible to some. He voiced
concerns and desires in ways
that might not otherwise have
gotten expressed.
“It’s clear to me that
Ray Boone was a giant of a
personality that won’t soon be
forgotten.”
Congressman Bobby
Scott, D-Va., called Boone a
“pioneer and a fixture in the
Virginia Press Corps.”
“While he was my friend,

Ray was always a newsman
first and never hesitated
to hold my feet to the fire
on issues important to the
Richmond community,” Scott
said in a statement. “I enjoyed
our many interviews and
editorial board meetings and I
will miss talking politics and
policy with him. I know his
legacy will endure through

the countless lives he has
touched and will continue to
touch through the Richmond
Free Press.”
Boone is survived by
his wife, the former Jean
Patterson of Columbia, S.C.;
and their two adult children,
Regina Helen Boone and
Raymond H. Boone Jr.
-zprince@afro.com

A4

The Afro-American, June 7, 2014 - June 13, 2014

A Journalist Remembers an Audience with Maya
By Zenitha Prince
Senior AFRO Correspondent

I called her Winston-Salem, N.C. home promptly at our scheduled
interview time, but an assistant asked, politely, if I would call back in
just a few minutes. I gladly acquiesced, and, in that same spirit, when
I called back waited patiently for her to make it to the phone. And
then I heard her voice, “Good afternoon, Ms. Prince,” and it was well
worth the wait.
As a reporter you’re supposed to remain objective, but I can admit
to feeling a bit star-struck—Maya Angelou, world-renowned poet,
author, activist, actress…conversing…with…me. And yet, somehow,
she managed to convince me that for her, too, our conversation was
Zenitha Prince
both a pleasure and a privilege.
is Senior AFRO
As poet and writer Nikki Giovanni said about Angelou, “Her
Correspondent.
ability to speak to everyone in the same voice was what made her the
force she was,” and I found that to be true.
Her voice—fathomless, knowing, like that of a sage; gracious,
regal, strong like that of a warrior-queen; yet, warm, welcoming like the quintessential
grandmother—invited me in to sit down, relax and join her in an oral repast.

And so I did. For the next 15 minutes I gorged, listening to her speak about her writing
process—sometimes organic, sometimes methodical but always from the soul. She spoke about
her experiences as the wife of South African freedom fighter Vusumzi L. Make—somehow
managing to maintain her voice within the passionate, boisterous, male-dominated milieu.
Mostly, however, she reminisced about her decades-long friendship with world-beloved
icon Nelson Mandela, his global impact and her homage, “His Day Is Done” published after
his death.
“We will not forget you, we will not dishonor you, we will remember and be glad that you
lived among us, that you taught us, and that you loved us all,” she said of Mandela. Yet, in the
wake of her death on May 28, we apply the words to her.
We cannot forget the woman whose own story of struggle and triumph captured the shared
experiences of so many in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. We will not dishonor the
phenomenal woman who empowered us, too, to stride in self-love with our heads unbowed. We
will remember the oracle, who showed us the light of hope amid the darkest clouds. We will be
glad for the lessons she taught—to seek peace, pursue equality, walk with dignity and seek our
best selves.
Tributes to Angelou’s legacy, particularly from those who met her or knew her personally,
attest to her profound impact.
I, too, had an encounter with the legend that is Maya Angelou, the merest brush against her
garments, really, but I know I’ll never be the same.

Alabama Voters

Continued from A1

“We do know there have been reports of changes to polling
places and alleged voter purges over the past couple months.
None of that is confirmed,” said Deuel Ross, an attorney with
the Political Participation Group of the NAACP Legal Defense
& Educational Fund. “What we do know for sure is that in
2011, the same Alabama Legislature that passed a housing law
that used discriminatory language against Latinos passed a
voter ID law that is one of the most restrictive in the country.”
House Bill 19, which was signed into law by Gov. Robert
Bentley and went into effect beginning with this June’s
primaries, requires an Alabama voter to have a specific type of
photo identification at the polls in order to vote.
Some would argue that the law is by no means draconian, as
is Texas’ or North Carolina’s, since it actually allows the use of
student IDs and employee IDs issued by federal, state or local
governments. But, while voters who don’t show a photo ID will
generally be allowed to cast a provisional ballot, they must then
bring the required ID to an election office by 5 p.m. on Friday
after Election Day.
And, there are other troubling provisions reminiscent of
Alabama’s discriminatory past, civic participation advocates
say.
“Alabama has long been recognized by Congress and
the federal courts as one of the worst actors in passing
discriminatory election laws,” Ross said. He added of HB 19,
“This is exactly the same law Alabama used in the 1960s to
prevent African Americans from voting…. It does seem as
if they’re dusting off these Jim Crow laws and re-instituting

them.”
Of particular concern is a stipulation that allows a voter
lacking the required photo identification to vote if two election
officials offer sworn statements (“vouchers”) saying they know
the individual.
Most poll workers in Alabama are White, Ross said.
And, according to a recent Reuters poll, 71 percent of White
Alabamans have fewer than five close friends of another race or
ethnicity and 37 percent have none.
“Which means Latinos and blacks would be less likely to be
vouched for,” Ross said.
The LDF, along with state branches of the NAACP, National
Urban League, the 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement
and other organizations, sent a letter to the office of Secretary
of State Jim Bennett on March 3 warning of the potential
ramifications of the voucher provision.
“The SOS’s inaction in providing guidance has rendered
the voucher provision itself dangerously ambiguous and
discriminatory,” the letter stated, and “gives election officials
‘the arbitrary power to accept or reject any prospective
elector.’”
In a follow-up letter on May 29, the LDF again warned that
Bennett’s current interpretation of HB19 was unconstitutional
and violated the Voting Rights Act, which banned “any
requirement that a person as a prerequisite for voting…
prove his qualifications by the voucher of registered voters or
members of any other class.” In the case of HB19, that class
comprises mostly-White poll workers.

AMERICANICONS

“The Secretary’s insistence on administering a prohibited
device is deeply disturbing and likely unconstitutional,” the
May 29 letter read. “The racially toxic legislative session in
which the photo identification law was passed; the substantial
burdens that the law will place on the half-a-million registered
voters in Alabama who lack state-issued photo identification;
and now the broad discretion that your proposed rules vest
in election officials across the State, in tandem, make clear
that the State intends to operate both the photo and positive
identification requirements as unconstitutional devices to
permit racial discrimination.”
The LDF urged Bennett to ameliorate the law—or at least its
implementation—to mitigate its discriminatory effects before
the June 3 primaries. But, Ross said, their efforts have so far
come to nil.
“The secretary of state knows this interpretation of the law
violates the Voting Rights Act. Unfortunately, he’s not been
responsive to changing the law,” the civil rights attorney said.
“He’s been aware of this problem for three months.”
The old-school voucher device is something that would have
likely been stopped by the Justice Department via the Section
5 provision of the Voting Rights Act. Since the Supreme Court
hobbled the provision in June 2013 via its ruling in Shelby
v. Holder, however, legal action is left up to individuals and
organizations.
Volunteers from the NAACP and other civil rights groups
planned to monitor the polls on June 3. Ross said the LDF has
not yet decided on a legal or any other course of action.

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N4050181A.indd 1

5/28/14 9:29 AM

June 7, 2014 - June 13, 2014, The Afro-American

COMMENTARY

A5

Harry and Eliza Briggs’ School
Bus to Opportunity
As we celebrate another
notable anniversary of the
civil rights era – Thurgood
Marshall’s 1954 victory
in the five cases we know,
collectively, as Brown v.
Topeka Board of Education
– we should take a moment
to thank Harry and Eliza
Briggs and their neighbors
in Clarendon County, S.C.
Their efforts to assure that
Clarendon County’s Black
children were provided a
Elijah Cummings
school bus, just as were
Caucasian children, were the
foundation for Briggs v. Elliott, one of the five Brown cases and
the beginning of the end for legally-sanctioned, public school
segregation in this nation.
I know about Mr. and Mrs. Briggs from my own family’s
history, as well as from my legal training. My parents, Robert
and Ruth Cummings, grew up in Clarendon County – the
very place where the White and Black doll experiments of
Dr. Kenneth Clark helped to convince the United States
Supreme Court that racially segregated schools could never be
considered “equal” under our Constitution.
My parents moved from Clarendon County to South
Baltimore as a young, newly-married couple. They were
determined that their own children would have the benefit of
the empowering education that they had been denied.
I recall these beginnings – the progress that can be traced to
everyday Americans like Harry and Eliza Briggs – because of
the sharp contrast in educational opportunity today, graphically
portrayed by the National Education Association at http://www.
nea.org. In “Still Separate, Still Unequal? Brown v. Board 60
Years Later,” we are confronted by a hard truth. Today, millions
of American children remain mired back in the 1950s, both
educationally and economically.
Sixty years after Brown, millions of American children are
still waiting by the side of the road for Harry Briggs’ school
bus to take them to a better life. It is up to those of us who have
survived and thrived to keep fighting for these children’s right
to a ride.
In this generation’s struggle for educational opportunity,
our courts – and far too many of my congressional colleagues

– appear to be wearing
ideological blindfolds.
Confronted by human
devastation of staggering
proportions, they offer only
abstract theories about the
appropriate roles of our shared
governmental institutions.
To paraphrase Jonathan
Kozol’s seminal work, Savage
Inequalities, “There is a sense
that they are skating over
ice – and that the issues we
must address are safely frozen
underneath.”
Opening their eyes to
the realities of educational
apartheid in our country is one
level of our wider struggle
for expanded support for our
nation’s public schools. It is
the primary field of battle for
those of us entrusted by our neighbors to represent them in
Washington.
In the Congress, there are legitimate issues in our continuing
debate over reauthorization of our nation’s Elementary and
Secondary Education Act. Yet, the American people should not
be misled. Now, as in the past, the most basic fight about the
federal role in public education is not about ideology. It’s about
money.
Closer to home, we who live in Maryland are fortunate that
the O’Malley-Brown Administration has made K-12 education
funding a high priority. Nevertheless, state-level budgetary
constraints heighten the continuing importance of federal
funding.
Even as we criticize (fairly, I believe) the ideological
blinders of those who object to our call for expanded federal
education funding, we who would expand that funding must
also be clear-sighted. As many educators point out, more than
expanded funding will be required to assure every American
child the school bus ride to a better life that he or she deserves.
For parents, teachers, and the general public alike, we all
must have high expectations of every child – and convey those
high expectations in everything we do.
The trajectory of my own life would have been

Continuing the Work of Freedom Summer

Racism is still alive and
well in Mississippi and
throughout this country just
as it was in the 1940s, 1950s,
and 1960s. This clearly
suggests there is much work
to be done. When we look
at those in control of things
in this country, we see, for
the most part, things are in
the hands of the same few
along with their descendants,
carrying out the same policies
executed in different ways.
For us to make sure
that
justice prevails in this
Hollis Watkins
country and that we have a
system of fair dealings with
one another, there is much unfinished business that we have to

attend because we are a long way from having such a system.
Freedom 50 provides the opportunity to teach others how
we mobilize and organize. Freedom 50 share 50 years of
practical experience with today’s youth. This will help young
people avoid some of the mistakes veterans made because
they lacked the foundation available today. Too often, we
don’t know the history of our past and because of that we lack
understanding of where we came from, where we are, and
where we are going. This makes it difficult to talk about where
we need to go and to establish a meaningful program of work
that gets us there. Freedom 50 helps us to continue this work.
When we look at human rights today, we see that humans
are not being treated like humans but like animals. A human
rights movement is desperately needed because when people
are convinced to not see themselves first as humans, they see
themselves consciously and subconsciously as something else.
We need a human rights movement to re-instill the dignity and
pride we once had in ourselves and in one another. That pride
creates brings people together to build a movement that will go

The Federal Government’s Image Problem

I think we can all agree
that the federal government
and federal employees have
an image problem. But that
wasn’t always the case.
Once believed by many to
be the most secure jobs to
have, positions within the
federal government were
highly sought after. Superior
retirement and health
benefits, reasonable hours,
and a family friendly work
environment combined with
the belief that you were doing
Shirley A. Jones
something of value to the
American public was what
people thought of when they considered public service. So what
changed?
We actually don’t have to look far to see why the federal
government’s image has suffered. Edward Snowden and
the National Security Agency’s global surveillance program
aside, the treatment of our nation’s veterans by the Veterans
Administration (VA) is the government scandal currently on
everyone’s mind. CNN first reported massive delays in medical
appointments for veterans across the country, with some
dying while waiting for care. The worst problems have been
reported in Phoenix, Ariz. where at least 40 veterans reportedly
died waiting for treatment. To make matters worse, a 2010
internal VA memo disclosed at a recent congressional hearing
revealed attempts to cover up excessive waits for veterans
going back years. This new scandal actually came after years of

controversy over VA’s backlog of unprocessed benefits claims.
Despite initial signs of lukewarm support from the president,
VA Secretary General Eric Shinseki resigned on May 30, with
firings vowed to follow at the highest levels within the VA
across the country.
The nation’s tax collector, the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS), has also had its share of scandals. Last year it was
disclosed that for more than 18 months during the 2010
and 2012 election campaigns, IRS agents in a Cincinnati
office singled out Tea Party and other conservative groups
for additional scrutiny when they sought tax-exempt status,
delaying their applications for an average of nearly two years
and making it difficult for many of the groups to raise money.
Before that was the IRS conference spending scandal in which
the IRS held a $4.1 million training conference featuring luxury
rooms and free drinks at its 2010 conference in Anaheim,
Calif. In fact, the IRS held numerous employee conferences
from 2010 through 2012 at a total taxpayer cost of $49 million.
And, not to be left out, the General Services Administration
(GSA) joined in with its own conference scandal by spending
more than $800,000 at a 2010 Las Vegas conference featuring
clowns, a mind reader, and a red-carpet party.
So, it’s understandable why the federal government is taking
a beating image-wise. But, most people know that many of
these ill-conceived decisions were made at the highest levels of
government with the hands of the everyday public servant who
doesn’t dare to be a whistleblower staying far away from the
fray. Why then has the everyday government worker’s image
become so tarnished? That’s the question I have pondered over
and over again. Putting aside the obvious misbehavior and poor
judgment of Secret Service agents accused in the Columbia
prostitution scandal, I now think I have the real answer and the

fundamentally different without the encouragement of an
insightful elementary school teacher of mine, Mr. Hollis Posey,
who believed in me and taught to my strengths.
This is why I realize that, far too often, we have allowed
the challenges posed by economic deprivation to affect our
expectations of what lower income children can achieve – if
encouraged and given the chance.
As reported recently by Erica Green in the Baltimore Sun,
a number of Baltimore City’s public schools, educating high
percentages of low-income students, nevertheless “… have
consistently outperformed their peers around Maryland.” Green
cites a study by Jason Botel, executive director of the Maryland
Campaign for Achievement Now (http://www.marylandcan.org/
research), that highlights eight “opportunity schools” that are
teaching economically disadvantaged children.
In these urban schools, most of the students in almost
every grade topped the statewide proficiency rates for both
reading and math in 2012 and 2013. These educators appear
to have found the keys to Harry & Eliza Briggs’ school bus to
opportunity. We would be wise to learn from their success.
Elijah Cummings represents Maryland’s 7th Congressional
District in the United States House of Representatives.

further into the future that we can ever imagine.
Changing systems instead of looking at isolated issues
is what is going to bring about this movement. We must
build a solid foundation on the grassroots level in the local
communities, spreading out in states and the country and
eventually across the world, that will bring social justice issues
like education, voting rights, workers’ rights, and healthcare to
the forefront, establishing them as basic constitutional rights.
That’s why it is so important that we have members of the
community come to the table during the Mississippi Freedom
Summer 50th Anniversary Conference June 25-29 at Tougaloo
College, so that we can engage in these conversations, establish
strategies that get us to where we need to be, and ensure that
our present and future generations are better off than they are
today.
Visit www.freedom50.org for more information.
Hollis Watkins is the national chair for the Mississippi
Freedom Summer 50th Anniversary Conference.

true underlying culprit.
Imagine the government worker who regularly brags to her
favorite cafeteria worker or the mailroom worker who brags to
the UPS man making deliveries to the building that they have
cushy jobs with nothing to do but listen to music or watch the
Soaps all day. Imagine bragging to people who work hard and
who are on their feet all day about how much you make to do
nothing. Now, imagine those government workers repeating
the same to their family and friends and imagine the cafeteria
workers and UPS man repeating the same to their family and
friends. Multiply that a few more times and now you have a
large-scale image problem.
I believe there are employees in every industry that are
lazy and that are paid far more than their effort is worth.
And, yes, I absolutely believe there are some in the federal
government. To say most government employees fall into that
category is a gross overstatement and mischaracterization of
the vast majority of public servants who take pride in what
they do. Until the hard working government workers become
the loudest, drowning out the bad apples who probably also
bragged in high school about getting Cs and Ds without
studying, only then will the reputations of hard working
government employees be restored as the valuable assets they
truly are. Combine that with the overall housecleaning the
Obama Administration needs to do, far beyond the resignation
of General Shinseki, and maybe then the federal government
will return to its days of glory as a model employer with model
employees.
Shirley A. Jones, Esq. is president of the Region XI Council
of Blacks In Government (BIG).

A6

The Afro-American, June 7, 2014 - June 13, 2014

NO MATTER WHO YOU ASK, OUR COVE POINT PROJECT
IS A GREAT SOLUTION FOR SOUTHERN MARYLAND.
“Going forward, we will promote fuel-switching from coal to gas for

electricity production and encourage the development of a global market for gas.”
President Barack Obama

“Several years from now a portion of a gas

“The export of LNG can

or electric bill being paid by a customer in
Japan or Europe could find its way into the
paycheck of a worker right here in the
United States.”

help drive additional U.S.
natural gas production
and support hundreds of
thousands of additional
U.S. jobs in engineering,
manufacturing,
construction, and
operation of the export
infrastructure.…”

Bipartisan letter to U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu,
cosigned by 21 members of Congress

“Restricting international trade in fossil fuels

is not an effective policy to reduce global
greenhouse gas emissions or to advance
domestic economic interests, and we
recommend against any such restrictions.”

David Mallino, Jr.,
Laborers International
Union of North America

Bipartisan Policy Center

“All of this underscores that

President Obama can serve
U.S. strategic and economic
interests by immediately approving
every request to build a liquefied
natural gas export terminal.”

“ The Energy Department was
right to approve Cove Point,
and it would be right to
okay other projects like it
in the future.”

The Washington Post

The Wall Street Journal

“LNG exports will foster U.S. job

creation, new tax revenues, and
stronger international alliances.
At issue is the freedom to export.”
John Murphy,
Vice President for International Affairs,
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Dominion’s proposal to add export capability to its Cove Point LNG Terminal has received strong support nationwide from
respected business leaders—and both sides of the political aisle. That’s because it will bring 3,000 construction jobs,
75 high-paying permanent positions, and tens of millions of dollars in new annual revenue for Southern Maryland. As Dominion
continues a 40-year commitment to Calvert County and the Chesapeake Bay, we look forward to keeping the conversation going.

Trina Quirindongo,
the senior class
president,
addresses
graduates and
their families with
a message of hope
and inspiration.
Thomas McMillen, secretary of the
University System of Maryland
Board of Regents, and John
Word, president of the Bowie
State University National Alumni
Association, share a laugh during
the commencement.

Jared Monk and
Ronnie Redmon

Sugar McMillian awaits
his chance to take the
stage to receive his Master
of Arts in Mental Health
Counseling degree.

President Mickey L. Burnim bestows
the Presidential Medal of Excellence on
commencement speaker Norman Augustine, a
University System of Maryland Regent.

Jonee Dorman and
Darius Gwynn

Candyce Young and Brittany
Jones show off their decorated
graduation caps.

U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings
According to U.S. Rep.
Elijah E. Cummings, the
trials and tribulations he
experienced in his personal
life ultimately led him to
pursue a career in public
service.
“Out of my pain came my
passion to find my purpose,”
he told the AFRO.
Born and raised in South
Baltimore, Cummings, 63,
said growing up, his family
had very little.
He attended a segregated elementary
school that lacked a playground,
gymnasium, auditorium and cafeteria.
Meanwhile, he said there was an all-White
school a short distance away that had stateof-the-art facilities.
“That became my early introduction
to segregation,” he said. “I was trying to
understand why the Black kids had to go to
a school that was in poor condition.”
Subsequently, a single moment would
change the course of his life forever.

Bea Gaddy
Bea Gaddy, often referred
to as the “Mother Theresa of
Baltimore,” never forgot the
many hardships she endured
in her lifetime. That’s why
she worked tirelessly to help
improve the lives of those in
her community.
Born Beatrice Frankie
Fowler in Wake Forest, N.C.
in 1933, Gaddy, like many
Americans raised during
the Great Depression, was
introduced to poverty at an early age.
But financial struggles weren’t the only
problems that her family endured. Gaddy’s
alcoholic stepfather routinely abused her and
the rest of her family. His violent episodes
often discouraged Gaddy from going home
and she and her brother would scavenge
for food in the garbage bins behind local
grocery stores.
She later escaped her troubled home by
getting married and moving to New York.
While in the Big Apple, she worked as a
housekeeper and earned just $50 a week.

Dr. Ruth Jones King Pratt
In order to get where she
wanted to go, Dr. Ruth Jones
King Pratt knew she had to
work hard.
“Having been born when
segregation was the law of
the land, hard work was all
that I knew,” she told the
AFRO. “For as long as I
can remember, my parents
were an early source of
encouragement.”
Born and raised in
Baltimore, Pratt graduated from Frederick
Douglass High School in 1939. She then
went on to Coppin Teachers College, a city
supported school for Black students who
desired to become educators.
In 1943, she graduated from Coppin and
passed the National Teacher’s Exam. Soon
after, Pratt wanted to continue her education,
but segregative laws prevented her from
doing so in her home state. Fortunately, the
state granted her money to attend Howard
University, where she earned a master’s in
1948.

When he was about 9 years old,
he joined the Baltimore Branch of
the NAACP and marched to integrate
South Baltimore’s Riverside
Swimming Pool. The
participants in the march
were attacked and berated,
but their efforts ultimately led
to the pool’s integration.
“That made me realize
that I had rights and I should
be able to do what the other
kids should be able to do,”
Cummings said. “The lady
who led us to integrate the
pool was Juanita Jackson
Mitchell, who was a
prominent lawyer. That made me want to be
a lawyer.”
After graduating with honors from
Baltimore City College in 1969, he attended
Howard University where he went on to
receive a bachelor’s in political science.
Shortly thereafter, Cummings enrolled in
Law School at the University of Maryland.
He graduated in 1976 and entered the
Maryland Bar that same year.
Cummings practiced law for 19 years
and was then elected to the Maryland House
Continued on C2

But tragedy soon followed after her husband
was murdered.
By the time she had reached her
mid-twenties, she was a
struggling single mother of
five children. After the death
of her first husband, she got
married again, but eventually
got a divorce.
Gaddy’s daughter,
Cynthia Davis Brooks, said in
an interview that although her
mother was struggling, she
never divulged her hardships
to her children.
“I didn’t realize that we
were poor until after I had
grown up and moved away,” she said. “She
was very successful in hiding it from us.”
In 1964, Gaddy packed up her bags
and moved to Baltimore. In Charm City,
she held down a variety of jobs but one in
particular would change the course of her
life forever.
While working as a crossing guard for
the Baltimore City Police Department,
Gaddy met Bernard Potts, a local
attorney and businessman. Through his
encouragement, Gaddy completed her high
Continued on C2

Pratt then embarked on a career that
would span over five decades. By the
time she retired in 1986, she had worked
as an assistant principal of
two schools, a principal
of three schools, a
curriculum specialist, and
chief educational officer
to the superintendent of
the Baltimore City School
System.
Throughout her career,
she also broke many racial
barriers including being
one of the first curriculum
specialists to work with an
integrated staff and becoming
the first African-American assistant principal
and the first African-American principal
at Westport and Dickey Hill Elementary
Schools, respectively.
Pratt also received over 50 awards and
recognitions including the “Who’s Who of
American Teachers” award, the NAACP’s
“Thurgood Marshall Legacy” award and
USA Honor Society’s “Educator of the Year”
award.
Shortly before her retirement, she
went back to school to receive a Doctor of

Continued on C2

Through his work as a mission worker, civil rights
icon and a powerful spiritual leader, the Rev. Marcus
Garvey Wood’s
tireless service
reaches from his
congregation
at Baltimore’s
Providence Baptist Church across the globe.
Rev. Wood, 93, has served as pastor of Providence
for over 60 years. The Gloucester, Va. native expressed
during a 2012 interview with the AFRO how eager he was
when he first got the opportunity to lead the church.
“I was excited coming to Providence,” Wood said. “A
larger city meant more talents available in a congregation,
more people who could do more things. I see members as possibilities.”
Born in 1920, Wood received his spiritual calling while still in high
school. After his home church, Union Zion Baptist licensed him to
preach in 1937, he was officially ordained in 1940.

Rev. Marcus Garvey Wood

David C. Driskell, renowned artist,
scholar and curator is often considered one
of the world’s leading authorities in AfricanAmerican art.
Trained as a painter and
art historian, Driskell works
primarily in collage, mixed
media and print making.
According to Driskell,
a solid upbringing and an
unwavering work ethic
helped him pursue his
aspirations.
“My parents taught me
the value of education and
the joy of inquiry into the
nature of things,” Driskell
told the AFRO. But my faith has sustained
and taught me to never give in to impending
hardship or adversity.”
Born in 1931 in Eatonton, Ga., Driskell
jumpstarted his career in art after enrolling
in the Skowhegan School of Painting and
Sculpture in Maine. After graduating in
1953, he matriculated to Howard University
and later Catholic University, where he
earned a master’s degree in Fine Arts.
Driskell then pursued post-graduate
study in art history at The Netherlands
Institute for the History of Art in the Hague.
Mamie “Peanut” Johnson never let
anything get in the way of her passion for
playing baseball.
Born Mamie Belton in
1935 in Ridgeway, S.C.,
she fell in love with the
sport while growing up in
the south. “That’s all we
had to do,” Johnson said in
an interview. “The more I
played it, the more I liked it
and the more I liked it, the
better I got at it.”
After her parents split
up, she was reared by her
grandmother while her
mother went on to work in
Washington, D.C.
Growing up, she sharpened her skills
on the field by playing with male relatives
and neighbors. Without any baseball
equipment, she and her cohorts often had to
use makeshift bats and balls from tree limbs
and rocks.
When her grandmother died in 1945,
Johnson went to live with an aunt and uncle
in New Jersey. Although her grandmother
was gone, she never forgot her words of
encouragement to pursue her dreams.
While in New Jersey, Johnson did a brief
Dr. Nina C. Rawlings made up her mind
at an early age that she wanted to be a
pediatrician.
When she was just six
years old, her older sister
developed rheumatic heart
disease. Sick of watching her
sister suffer, Rawlings said
from that moment on, her
career path was set.
“I would beg to go to the
hospital whenever she had
to go,” she said. It made me
feel so bad that she was so
sick that I made my mind up
early that I was going to be a
doctor to help sick children
get well.”
Rawlings, 78, was reared in East
Baltimore. She said her parents stressed the
importance of education to her and her eight
siblings early on.
In 1953, she graduated from Paul
Lawrence Dunbar High School as
salutatorian. Four years later, she graduated
summa cum laude from then Morgan
State College. While at Morgan, she met
her future husband, the late Maryland
state delegate Howard “Pete” Rawlings.
They got married in 1960 and had three

C1

David C. Driskell
Shortly thereafter, he began
his teaching career at
Talladega College in 1955.
From there, he went
on to teach at numerous
institutions including
Howard and Fisk
Universities, Bowdon
College, The University
of Michigan and Queens
College, among a host of
others.
Citing famous artists
such as Henry O. Tanner, Lois M. Jones
and Romare Bearden as early inspirations,
Driskell said he considers art a “spiritual
endeavor.”
“I see it as a way to connect visually to
nature and the everyday world around me,”
he said.
Driskell’s prints and paintings have
been featured in numerous galleries and
exhibitions throughout the globe. In 1976,
he curated the groundbreaking exhibit “Two
Centuries of Black American Art: 1750Continued on C2

Mamie “Peanut” Johnson
stint playing girls’ softball,
but eventually quit because
she grew up playing hardball
with the boys. Shortly
thereafter, she tried out for
an all-White boys’ team that
was sponsored by the Long
Branch Police Athletic Club.
Johnson then became the only
Black and the only girl on the
team.
Her talents helped the
team win two division
championships. Also during this time, she
developed her strong right pitching arm and
learned how to outsmart opponents who
underestimated her.
Johnson later moved to D.C. to live
with her mother. While in the District, she
played with the Alexandria All-Stars, the St.
Cyprians and a host of other semi-pro teams
in the area. When she was 17, she and a
friend tried out for the All-American Girls
Professional Baseball League, but were
ultimately rejected because they were Black.
Continued on C2

Dr. Nina C. Rawlings
children—Lisa, Wendell and
the Honorable Stephanie
Rawlings-Blake, Baltimore’
mayor.
Although she had big
dreams of pursuing a career
in medicine, Rawlings said
the road to get there was
pretty challenging.
“Back in the fifties when
I was finishing up college,
it was kind of hard to get
into medical school,” she
said. “I knew I couldn’t go too far because
I couldn’t pay room and board. I needed
to stay in Baltimore.” But, even going to
medical school in her hometown was still
pretty difficult, she said.
“The only school that I could choose
was The University of Maryland because
Hopkins wasn’t admitting Black students at
the time,” Rawlings said. “Maryland had a
quota where they took one Black student a
year.”
By the time she applied to Maryland,

Continued on C2

Rev. Wood went on to serve as pastor at Wainwright
Baptist Church in West Virginia and later Bethlehem
Baptist Church in Woodbury, N.J. Also during this time,
he met and married his wife, Bessie.
While serving at Bethlehem Baptist, Wood and 9
other African-American ministers made civil rights
history when they became the first Blacks accepted into
Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pa. One of
his classmates at the institution was the Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., with whom Wood developed a close
friendship. They graduated from the seminary in 1951.
That following year, Rev. Wood became pastor at
Providence. Over the course of his lengthy tenure, he
has implemented a host of innovative projects, activities
and programs. Among these include the development of an adult day
care center and the construction of a solar-heated and handicapped
accessible church. He also instituted an international missionary
Continued on C2

C2

The Afro-American, June 7, 2014 - June 13, 2014

Cummings
of Delegates in 1983. In this
role, he became chairman of
the Legislative Black Caucus
and became the first AfricanAmerican in Maryland history
to be named Speaker Pro
Tempore, the second highest
position in the House of
Delegates.
In 1996, he was elected
to the U.S. House of
Representatives, representing
Maryland’s 7th District--a
position he currently holds.
Throughout his term,
Cummings has been an
advocate for those facing
foreclosure and holds regular
foreclosure prevention
seminars for people who are
at-risk. He also holds regular
job fairs and information
sessions on paying for college.

Cummings has advocated
for affordable healthcare,
reducing student loan costs
and preserving Medicare and
Medicaid.
Cummings explained
that an increase in affordable
housing is one of the things
he’d like to see in Baltimore
and around the country in
the future. He added that
he would like to implement
more recreational activities
for inner-city children and
equalize funding for education.
“Our children are the living
messages we send to a future
we will never see,” Cummings
said. “The question is, will
they have developed all the
skills for thinking and problem
solving? All of these things
are very important. “I want to
make sure that young people
have an opportunity to get an
education to become what God
meant for them to be.”

Driskell
field of African American Art History.
He’s lectured across the globe and has
authored numerous books on African-American
art.
He’s also been the recipient of numerous

Gaddy
school education and went on
to earn a bachelor’s degree in
human services from Antioch
University.
As Gaddy’s life began
to turn around, she became
committed to helping others.
In 1981, a winning lottery
ticket worth $291 jumpstarted
her efforts. Shortly thereafter,
she founded the Patterson
Park Emergency Food Center,
which later became the Bea
Gaddy Family Center.
She went to local churches
collecting food in a shopping
cart and passed it out to
neighborhood residents.
Eventually, long lines formed
outside of her door on a daily
basis. Gaddy also expanded
the center to donate clothing
and provide shelter to women

fellowships, awards and prizes. After joining the
Faculty of Art at the University of Maryland,
College Park, Driskell worked at the institution
for over 20 years as a practicing artist, teacher,
curator, art consult and art collector. Shortly
after his retirement, the institution honored him
with the President’s Medal, the highest honor
the university bestows on a member of its
faculty. The university also founded the David
C. Driskell Center for the
Study of the African Diaspora
in his honor.
Additionally, in 2000, he
received a Presidential Medal
from President Bill Clinton
as one of 12 recipients of the
National Humanities Medal.
Driskell hopes his many
accomplishments will inspire
future generations to pursue
their goals.
“I believe that my greatest
accomplishment has been
winning the confidence of
people, beginning with my
own family,” he said. “[I want
them] to see me as a role
model, a teacher and a person
who offers a positive outlook
on life regardless of the
circumstances.”

and children.
On Thanksgiving, Gaddy
would pass out dinners to the
community on a sidewalk near
her home. The annual event
eventually drew so many
people that it had to be held in
a local middle school.
Gaddy is also credited for
starting a furniture bank and
helming a host of summer
youth programs. She was
elected to the Baltimore City
Council in 1999.
Her work in Baltimore
spawned a host of honors
including the Baltimore’s Best
Award, the AFRO Woman
of the Year, the National

Council of Negro Women
Humanitarian Award and the
Baltimore City Council Award.
After enduring a bout with
breast cancer, she died in 2001
at the age of 68.
After Gaddy’s death,
her daughters, Brooks and
Sandra E. Chandler continued
their mothers outreach and
charitable efforts.
Today, the Bea Gaddy
Center provides thousands of
people with food annually.
Additionally, the center’s nowhallmark Thanksgiving event
often draws more than 70,000.
While Chandler died earlier
this year, Brooks still operates

Johnson
While the experience would have devastated
most people, Johnson just used it as a stepping
stone to keep pushing.
“It really didn’t bother me at all,” she said.
“They ignored us. It wasn’t a big thing.”
In 1953, at the age of 19, she went on to
play with the Indianapolis Clowns and became
one of the three women on the team. Also
during this time, she married Charles Johnson
and had a son named Charlie.
First season road games took the team to
Atlanta, Nashville, Little Rock, Memphis,
Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, Brooklyn,
Cincinnati, Kansas City, Birmingham and Little
Rock. Johnson quickly proved herself on the
field. As a pitcher, she finished the season with
an 11-3 record. An opponent, who was shocked
by her skill, questioned how she was able to

Pratt
Education degree from the
University of Maryland, a
school that once shunned her.
After being in retirement for
nearly 13 years, the teaching
bug bit Pratt once again in 1999
and she went back to work
as an English, reading and
psychology adjunct professor
at Coppin State University. She
retired again in 2011.
Pratt said faith and the

the center as executive
director. She explained that
although her mother is no
longer living, her legacy is
alive and well and thanks to
volunteers, she’s able to carry
on the torch.
“People want to help
other people and they come
out in droves to help make it
possible,” she said. “The fact
that her work is still being
acknowledged says a lot about
the impact she had on our
city.”
Information compiled from
the Bea Gaddy Center and the
Maryland Archives

strike anybody out because she was “no bigger
than a peanut.” Thus, her nickname was born.
Johnson played professional baseball for
three seasons, from 1953 to 1955. During her
tenure, she won thirty-three games and lost
eight and became one of the top pitchers in
league history. She also got a chance to play
alongside baseball legends Satchel Paige and
Hank Aaron.
“It was a beautiful experience,” she said. “I
enjoyed it tremendously and met some of the
nicest people you could ever know.”
After retiring, Johnson worked as a licensed
nurse for 30 years. She also coached youth
baseball and spent some time working at a
Negro League Memorabilia Shop in Capitol
Heights, Md.
She’s been honored across the country and
was invited to dinner at the White House by
President Bill Clinton. In 2003, her life became
the subject of the children’s book A Strong Right
Arm, written by Michelle Green.

strong teachers that she had
were her inspiration to keep
pushing in her career over the
years in the face of adversity.
“Dedicated professional
teachers and administrators
were there for educational
issues and problems, providing
the foundation required to
face the world and all of its
challenges,” she said. “Faith
and confidence provided me
the strength required to keep
going. I live by the motto, ‘If at
first you don’t succeed try, try
again.’”
She also said Sharon
Baptist Church and the Delta
Sigma Theta Sorority have
both been impactful entities in
her life.
Even though there have

Rawlings
the university had already
accepted their only Black
student. Still determined,
Rawlings did graduate
studies in biochemistry at the
University of Pittsburgh and
subsequently worked as a
biochemist research associate
at the National Institute of
Health in Bethesda.
“I wouldn’t be happy doing
anything else besides being a
physician for children,” she
said. I just couldn’t imagine
myself doing anything else.
That’s what kept pushing me to
keep on going.”
Nearly four years later,
Maryland’s quota had
increased to three. Soon after,
she applied and got in.
In 1966, she became one of
the first African Americans to
graduate from the university’s
medical school. Thereafter, she
completed a rotating internship
at Maryland General Hospital
and her pediatric residency at

Wood
program that provides
homeless, food and HIV/AIDS
ministries.
Throughout the years,
Wood has served in many
agencies boards and
organizations including the
Baltimore Urban League, the
United Baptist Missionary
Convention and the Kidney
Foundation of Maryland,
among a host of others.

been numerous strides in
education since she began her
career, Pratt believes a lot of
work still needs to be done.
“The educational system
should elevate its standards
to meet the needs of teachers,
students, the community
and the country,” she said.”
Only qualified teachers and
administrators should be hired
in permanent positions.”
She added that it would be
educationally beneficial if all
schools were equally funded
for books, equipment, supplies
and technology.
“I was fortunate to receive
a strong, rich education,” She
said. “Overall, the educational
setting today leaves a lot to be
desired.”
Sinai Hospital in Baltimore in
1970.
After working in
community pediatrics at SinaiDruid Children and Youth
Center, Rawlings did over 20
years in private practice from
her home office on Sequoia
Avenue. She later returned
to working in community
pediatrics at the University of
Maryland Medical Systems
before ultimately retiring.
Throughout her 36year career, Rawlings has
maintained a close relationship
with many of her former
patients. She said serving as
a physician and a role model
was always a strong part of her
practice.
“People always keep in
touch with me to tell me
their children’s good news,”
she said. “In fact, I just got
an invitation to a graduation
from one of my patients
who graduated from Towson
University. The fact that the
patients keep in touch with me,
to me is a tribute that I made a
difference in their lives.”
At his 60th pastoral
anniversary celebration, Rev.
Wood was asked what he
wanted to do next. Rev. Wood
joked, “I’ll think I’ll become a
lay person.”
Jeanette James, one of
Wood’s four children, said her
dad is a commendable man, all
around.
“He’s a fantastic father
and he’s a fantastic minister at
Providence,” she said. “He’s
done so much for the area and
the community. He’s just a
great person. “

He’s edgy, controversial and a tad
annoying, but combo guard Lance Stephenson
means everything to the Indiana Pacers. Now
that they have been jettisoned by the Miami
Heat four games to two in a best of seven
series, the Pacers will begin a summer full of
questions as they look to tweak their roster in
attempt to finally dispose of the Heat, the same
team that has bounced them from postseason
play the last three years.
Stephenson tried a pesky, nuisance strategy
against the Heat that failed miserably but
turned him, within a two-week period, into
one of the National Basketball Association’s
(NBA) most controversial players. From
blowing in LeBron James’ ear to directing

a constant stream of trash-talk at the twotime defending champion Heat, Stephenson
overshadowed what was otherwise a solid
season with his on-court and off-court
antics. Now, with the Pacers securely among
the top four Eastern Conference teams,
Indiana’s fourth-year guard is set to become
an unrestricted free agent. Should he be resigned? Perry Green and Stephen D. Riley of
the AFRO Sports Desk debate the question.

Riley: Stephenson’s 2013-2014 numbers
don’t explode off the paper but when you
examine the impact he had on the Pacers’
playing attitude, he’s everything that Indiana
could ask for--minus the antics. With averages
of nearly 14 points, seven rebounds and almost
five assists a game, Stephenson’s growth
helped pushed the Pacers into the status of a

‘Catch 22’

Before I get started, I would like to thank the folks who were following “He Made a
Difference,” and I promise I will get back on task in my next effort.
If you caught my venting in our last installment, you probably picked up on the hint that
I have been in the hospital. My doctor showed up wearing an apron and carrying a knife
and the last words I heard were, “Count backwards from 100, 000 to zzz….”
While recuperating, I have had to listen to some issues that threaten to keep my blood
pressure in the upper 10,000s and this is a
convenient way to vent.
Does anybody remember the story of
“Catch 22”? Basically the whole story drives
us in the direction of “Damned if you do, and
damned if you don’t.”
When the football powers grin at me
through my TV and start talking about the
new near-death package that is going to be
inserted for my entertainment and leave me
believing that it is all for the good of the
game, I start to wonder about the fate of American entertainment.
In the event that you have been hung up on the NBA Playoffs and the Women’s College
Softball Championship, you may have missed the proposal to expand the NFL playoff
picture. This is exactly what we need.
There are enough NFL standouts lying in bed to fill the average VA Hospital. I was
under the impression that the NFL was looking for a solution to the injury problem. They
can’t fix that dilemma, and I guarantee this will only add fuel to the fire.
I don’t know about you, but it is clear to me that there is a world of violence attached to
pro football that is not going to be cured by adding more games. That is like discovering
guns in a neighborhood and trying to solve the problem by bringing in more guns.
Just in case the NFL is being run by a group of insomniacs, there is a letter on your desk
informing you that a group of old vets is suing you for masking injuries with pain killers.
There is an ongoing search for helmets that can cut down, if not eliminate concussions.
After a few years researching the problem from that angle, the threat still looms over the
game.
Recently, a rumble has been heard from middle-schoolers over the concussion problem.
Somewhere in there is the message that we haven’t found a solution yet.
So before we buy better ammunition for the guns, we need to look for another solution.

“I start to wonder about
the fate of American
entertainment.”

regular season powerhouse
before an unexplained
team slump doomed their
championship campaign.
His playoff numbers
stayed nearly identical to
his regular season stats
but his aggressiveness
and fearlessness was an
attitude that probably
would’ve pushed the whole team over the top
had it been transplanted in every player on the
roster. Forget the antics. He’s going to get a fat
contract from some team this summer and the
team should definitely be the Pacers.

Green: We talk about Stephenson’s
aggressiveness but it may have cost the Pacers
big time against Miami. He constantly poked
and pulled at James’ coattails, upsetting the
King and providing bulletin board material
that the two-time defending champs used to
simply overwhelm the Pacers following an
Indiana victory in Game One of the Eastern
Conference championship series. Sometimes
you just have to know when to be quiet and
apparently Stephenson just doesn’t know.
Pacers President Larry Bird even had to
intervene after his player’s embarrassing –
and creepy--blow-in-the-ear tactic against
James was caught on camera --and went viral
online. A talented and tough-as-nails player,
Stephenson’s penchant for making bonehead
decisions, followed by erratic play at times, is
reason enough for anyone to be hesitant about
buying into him long-term. Still, I love the kid
and his fiery style on the court. It’s entertaining
to watch. I even found his blowing in LeBron’s
ear-- and the King’s reaction-- entertaining. If I
was Larry Bird, I’d make sure Stevenson stays
put.

Riley: In Indiana’s case they
may not have much choice. This
is a classic example of a player
meaning more to one team than to
any other franchise. Stephenson’s
worth and value is twice as much
as a Pacer than elsewhere. He
can operate well as either a point
guard or a shooting guard and he
is a stout defender. When he’s on,
he electrifies the team and gets the Pacers’
home crowd into the game. There isn’t much
superior talent at the shooting guard position
in the NBA; given the shortage, Stephenson
is about as safe as you can get. He’s not Kobe
Bryant or Dwyane Wade but he’s a solid plugand-play defender who could go to most teams
and command major minutes.
Green: Indiana’s problems lay in the
exorbitant contracts already handed to Paul
George and Roy Hibbert, leaving money scarce
to sweeten the pot for Stephenson. Indiana also
acquired former 2010 No. 2 overall draft pick
Evan Turner and they have the team option
to retain him next season, as well. The Pacers
may elect to just pay Turner, a classic small
forward, and insert him into the starting lineup
while moving George from his three position
into Stephenson’s spot. The Pacers have options
and don’t merely have to just pay Stephenson
in fear of losing him. Indiana’s already saddled
with a bunch of hefty contracts and re-signing
their combo guard will push them dangerously
close to the luxury tax. For a team that doesn’t
have a league championship banner yet and
continues to get bounced out of the playoffs
by the Heat, paying that tax doesn’t seem like
a wise strategy. But if I’m Bird, I would find a
way to overcome Stevenson’s shortcomings and
get a long-term deal done. Trust me, Stevenson
would be worth it.

C4

The Afro-American, June 7, 2014 - June 13, 2014

HEALTH

2012 NFL Most Valuable Player Adrian Peterson Launches Allergy Education Program
By Barry Wilner
AThe Associated Press
His face swollen,
breathing becoming difficult,
Adrian Peterson didn’t panic.
Maybe it was his
resourcefulness as an elite
athlete, or his ability to
focus even in the most dire
circumstances. But Peterson
knew what to do two years
ago when a severe allergy
attack hit at Vikings training
camp.
Now, he wants to make
sure everyone else knows
how to react.

Peterson has helped launch
an educational program called
Ready2Go for people with
severe allergies.
“It breaks down to two
things,” the 2012 NFL Most
Valuable Player said Monday.
“First thing is being
prepared and knowing
your allergic triggers and
symptoms.
Then, having access to
injections and using the epi
pens.”
That’s how Peterson
dealt with the reaction called
anaphylaxis. He immediately
called his athletic trainer, Eric

Sugarman — the man who
oversaw Peterson’s incredibly
quick and productive return
from torn knee ligaments
— and was fortunate that
Sugarman was familiar with
such symptoms and had the
equipment to deal with them.
“Being an athlete played
a role in dealing with it,”
said Peterson, whose allergic
reaction was to shellfish in
gumbo — something he’d
been eating his entire life.
“You have to have an
action plan.”
Peterson has teamed
with the pharmaceutical

company Mylan Specialty
on the project. As part of the
campaign, three youngsters
who have such health issues
can win a trip to Minnesota’s
training camp this summer.
Termed the
Ready2GoDraft, Mylan will
conduct a nationwide search
for kids aged 5 through 18
who have severe allergies.
The youngsters will share
their tips for being prepared
in a 30-second video, each of
which must mention how the
child manages an anaphylaxis
action plan.
The three winners will

participate in a video/photo
shoot with the star running
back, and will get a trip to
Minnesota’s training camp.
Peterson, a paid
spokesman for Mylan,
chuckled when asked if he’d
prefer the winners be Vikings
or Oklahoma Sooners fans.
“They talked me out of
it,” he said with a laugh. “It’s
nationwide.”
And it’s important to
Peterson, who related a story
about when he was 7 years
old and his brother was hit
by a car. Peterson held his
brother’s head, surveyed the

situation, then gently placed
his sibling’s head down and
sprinted to his aunt’s house to
get someone to call 911.
He showed focus then in a
stressful health situation, and
he encourages others to do the
same, to learn from him.
His Vikings teammates
and others in the NFL already
are doing so.
“When I had my episode, I
was able to learn a lesson and
be more knowledgeable, and
so were they,” he said. “I can
give them information based
on my experiences and how
they can be prepared.”

June 7, 2014 - June 13, 2014, The Afro-American

C5

ARTS & CULTURE

Tom Cruise Stars in Action Film ‘Edge of Night’

By Dwight Brown
NNPA Film Critic
Day after day. Over and over again. He can see his demise. But no one else can see theirs.
Until….
In Hiroshi Sakurazak’s 2004 military science-fiction novel All You Need Is Kill, Mimics
(vicious, crustacean-looking aliens) invade Japan. Keiji Kiriya, the book’s protagonist, is a young
recruit who is suited up in gunnery armor called a “Jacket” and thrust out on to a battlefield to
kill the evil extraterrestrials. Keiji dies. He’s reborn each morning to fight and die again. On his
158th trip into déjà vu combat, a mysterious female soldier named “Full Metal Bitch” gives him
a clue to his salvation.
“For Edge of Tomorrow,” the screen adaptation of Sakurazak’s book, screenwriter

Christopher McQuarrie, who is quite adept at writing brain-twisting scripts “The Usual
Suspects”, and co-writers Jez and John-Henry Butterworth “Fair Game, CIA operative Valarie
Plame’s story” change the locale from Japan to a French beach (ala the Invasion of Normandy),
sometime in the future. Keiji becomes public relations expert Major William Cage (Tom Cruise),
a paper-pushing pretty boy spin-doctor who has never seen a day of combat.
In London, he glibly mouths off to a commanding officer, Gen. Brigham (Brendan Gleeson)
and quickly finds himself shanghaied and shoved onto the front lines battling aliens who
massacre the troops. Cage, a poser not a fighter, gets annihilated. But when he dies, the day
starts again. He’s stuck in a cycle of eternal warfare, until he meets Special Forces warrior Rita
Vrataski (Emily Blunt) who sends him a lifeline, “Find me when you wake up.”
The ambitious script is very smartly directed by Doug Liman, who knows how to wring the
last drop of sweat and fear out of action films “The Bourne Identity” and is pretty sly when it
comes to making tempestuous male/female thrillers “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”. With the help of editor
James Herbert “Sherlock Holmes”, Oscar-winning cinematographer Dion Beebe “Memoirs of a
Geisha” and set decorator Elli Griff “Gladiator” what you see, ad nauseum, is an incessant, fastpaced and graphic nightmare, filled with loud predatory demons (the sound and visual effects are
more realistic than those in the recent “Godzilla”). This is a near-perfect setting for a candyass
anti-hero who has to man-up.
Back in 1981 when Tom Cruise played Cadet Captain David Shawn in “Taps,” he stole the
movie from Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn with a steely swagger. Thirty odd years later, after
Top Gun, A Few Good Men, Mission: Impossible… he’s still on top of his game. He can shine
in any movie—even one with a dour, tough-to-watch Groundhog’s Day scenario that may not
appeal to everyone. His performance is riveting. And, though they never make love and only
steal a kiss in an awkward moment, the unrequited sexual tension between Cruise and Emily
Blunt is as tangible as their suicide missions. Gleeson and other cast members like Bill Paxton
“Titanic” support the main performances, but their contributions are grossly overshadowed.
What will stick with you, as you ponder what you’ve just witnessed, is this stinging feeling
that you were trapped in a barrage of psychological terror. You were brutalized against your will.
You know what is coming, but you’re completely helpless as the devil holds his finger on the
reset button of your life and smiles while you squirm.
Credit a smart script, smarter direction, excellent production elements and an unflappable
leading man for taking you to hell and back—over and over again.
Visit NNPA Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com.

Author’s Corner

‘Let’s Talk About It’
Author: Dr. Tara Doaty-Mundell
Release Date: April 9, 2014
Dr. Tara Doaty-Mundell holds a Ph.D. in
clinical psychology from Howard University,
and has obtained certifications in evidencedbased practices for parent and child attachment
and has worked with parents and families
for 15 years. She has developed curricula on
family dynamics, parenting, and recovery from
addiction.
In 2012, she founded Sage Wellness Group,
and provides program and staff professional
development, and clinical groups for clients and
families. She has partnerships with corporate
businesses, non-profit organizations, churches,
hospitals/medical centers, and institutions of
higher learning.
Dr. Doaty-Mundell has been the keynote
speaker and facilitator of trainings on
Mindfulness, Trauma, Parenting, Client
Engagement, and Bereavement and currently
Dr. Tara Doaty-Mundell
works as an adjunct professor at Notre
Dame of Maryland University. She serves
on the board of directors for Mosaic Community Services and on the Advisory Board of The
Carpenter’s House.
Dr. Doaty-Mundell resides in Baltimore, Maryland with her husband and three children.
What was the impetus for writing this book?
I wrote this book as a way to begin the conversation between parents, caregivers, and
teachers and children about their emotional well-being. One of the things I have learned from
my work with parents is that there is a strong desire to connect with our children emotionally,
however, sometimes we don’t know how. This book is a way to get the conversation about our
children and their feelings started. A lot of children’s books place emphasis on physical activity,
and academic achievement and while those issues are of great importance, this is a way that lets
us know that their mental health is just as important.
What’s the overall theme?
The overall theme is exploring our feelings. The book contains five short stories, covering
Mindfulness meditation, bullying, peer pressure, feeling shy, and self-esteem, and in each

of these stories, the goal is to allow children to understand that their feelings, along with the
feelings of others should be recognized and validated.
What surprised you about the development of the book?
I was surprised to learn that there is much more material to cover as it relates to providing
children with images and storylines that they can relate to, especially as it pertains to their
emotional well-being. From this observation, I made the decision to take each of the themes
presented in ‘Let’s Talk About It’ and turn them into their own separate books, which is
exciting!
For what audience is your book written?
My audience is children up to age 11/12…and the adults who love them! I feel as though
we can all learn to express our feelings, and by having our children express how they feel about
certain situations, we, as adults have the opportunity to create a safe space by relating to those
shared emotions.
What one thing do you most want the reader to learn?
I want readers to learn that their feelings are
important—they matter. I also want them
to learn the connection between their
bodies and their emotions. In the Mindful
of Me story, I introduce readers to the
practice of Mindful meditation, which calls
for us to become in tune with our bodies and
notice and honor those “butterflies” we may
feel in our stomachs which signal anxiety or
feeling nervous, and different techniques we
can use to calm ourselves.
What did you learn during the writing
process?
A lot! I learned that done is better than
perfect. A lot of time we delay the process
because we want it to be perfect. If it is done,
we can then re-submit it and make the necessary
changes.
Any advice for aspiring writers?
Do it….people need to read your work and get
lost in your words.

C6

The Afro-American, June 7, 2014 - June 13, 2014

June 7, 2014 - June 13, 2014, The Afro-American

D1

INTERNATIONAL
The Little Girl Left in Forest in C. African Republic War
10-Yr-Old in Midst of Violent Christian/Muslim Bloodbath—Who Helped

CARNOT, Central African
in forests, according to
Republic (AP) — When
UNICEF. Hundreds have
gunfire rang out through the
become separated from their
village just after dawn, when
families, lost or simply too
neighbors dropped their
slow to keep up.
coffee to flee, even when
That’s what left
her mother grabbed three
Hamamatou and her brother
younger children and ran for
trudging along the red dirt
her life, the 10-year-old girl
path on an unlikely journey
did not move.
that would reflect a world
It was not terror that
turned upside down by the
pinned Hamamatou Harouna
complexities of war. The
to the ground, although she
AP pieced together the story
was terrified. It was that
from interviews with the
polio had left her unable to
girl over two weeks and
walk.
information from witnesses,
So all she could do was
health workers, priests and
wait and watch, paralyzed,
medical records.
as the vicious war between
Hamamatou, a Muslim
Muslims and Christians in
girl, grew up in Guen, a
Central African Republic
village so remote that it can
came to her village. The
hardly be reached during
Christian fighters were going
the rainy season. Before the
from door to door, and she
conflict, it was home to about
wondered if she would die.
2,500 Muslims, a quarter
That’s when her 12-yearof the population, many of
old brother came to her
whom worked as diamond
rescue. Barely bigger than
miners. Today only three
his sister, Souleymane
remain.
struggled to hoist her, all 40
Life had not been kind
AP Photo/Jerome Delay
pounds of her, onto his back.
to Hamamatou. She lost
In this April 16 photo, 10-year-old Hamamatou Harouna smiles as she sits in a tent with other Muslim refugees on the
Around his neck she clasped
her father at age 7. A year
grounds of the Catholic Church in Carnot, Central African Republic. Hammamatou, who had lost the use of her legs to
her calloused hands, dirty
polio, fled Anti-Balaka violence in her village, carried on the back of her 12-year-old brother Souleymane. She spent 10 later, her limbs withered
from pulling herself over the
from polio, a disease that
days alone in the forest.
ground.
had almost died worldwide
They set off, barefoot,
but is now coming back in
Christians has killed thousands of people in the Central
disappearing into the dense tropical forest as fast as they could African Republic, a nation of about 4.6 million that sits almost countries torn by war and poverty.
manage. Her legs could not hook onto her brother’s back, and
The pain started in her toes, and a traditional healer could
precisely at the heart of Africa. As families flee, it is often
her body drooped like a dead weight.
do little for her. Within a month, she could no longer walk.
children who carry the weight of the crisis on their backs.
Hamamatou had never felt so heavy in her life.
Soon she had to crawl across the dirt.
Nearly half a million children have been displaced by
Over the past year, conflict between Muslims and
violence in the country last year, with many hiding out
Continued on D2

“Every child, regardless of
where they live, should have
a world-class education”
~Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown

Brown’s Plan for Maryland:
•

Close the Achievement Gap

•

Universal, Full Day,
Voluntary Pre-K

•

Invest in School Construction
and Renovation

Anthony Brown for Governor
Election Day is June 24th, vote early June 12th - June 19 th
Learn More at www.AnthonyBrown.com/VOTE
BY AUTHORITY: BROWN-­ULMAN FOR MARYLAND. GERARD BODEN, TREASURER.

D2

The Afro-American, June 7, 2014 - June 13, 2014

HBCU NEWS

Lincoln Board Chair Hosts Garden Party To Benefit
$10 Million Scholarship Campaign
The Lincoln University Board of Trustees Chair Kimberly
Lloyd ‘94 is hosting The Chairlady’s Garden Party to benefit
the university’s first-ever $10 million Students First Campaign
for student scholarships, June 21, on the lawn of its historic
Alumni House.
The Students First Campaign, which is an endowment
campaign for merit and need-based scholarship support, is
chaired by Hollywood legend and philanthropist Dr. William
“Bill” Cosby Jr., who has been encouraging support from
corporations, foundations, churches, the general public as well
as alumni, faculty and staff of The Lincoln University. The
campaign ends June 30.
“The concept of the Chairlady’s Garden Party is two-fold,
first the opportunity to raise scholarship funds for our students
at The Lincoln University and to secondly display the southern
charm of our main campus,” said Lloyd, who is asking ladies

in attendance to adorn themselves with hats,
gloves and pearls while the gentlemen to
don seersucker and linen suits or cool
breeze shirts and slacks.
Currently, Lincoln lacks the funds
of wealthier institutions to compete
for the best and brightest students,
who typically chose the university.
In addition, more than 96 percent of
Lincoln’s students depend on financial
assistance.
Over the past several months, the
university has enlisted the support of
alumni, faculty & staff as well as corporate,
foundation and faith-based community
leadership to also encourage support while

Little Girl Left

didn’t know how far they had
walked, only that they had not
yet reached the next town, 6
miles (10 kilometers) away.
It was clear they would never
make it to safety this way.
Exhausted, Souleymane
placed his sister down on
the ground and told her he
was heading for help. If he
didn’t come back, he said, she
should make as much noise
as possible so someone would
find her.
Hamamatou told her
brother she would wait for
him in the grass, in the shade
of a large tree.
As evening fell, hunger set
in. Hamamatou had nothing to
eat or drink. She talked aloud
to her brother and mother as
though they were still beside
her. But with each sound of

Continued from D1

Most days she helped
her mother sell tiny plastic
bags of salt and okra, each
one tied firmly with a knot.
Hamamatou had never been
to school a day in her life,
but she spoke two African
languages and knew how to
make change.
Her brother, Souleymane,
doted on her like a parent,
helping her get around as best
he could. With what little
money he had, he bought her
stunning silver earrings, with
chains that swayed from a ball
in each ear.
On the day of the attack,
Christian militia fighters
burst out of the forest with

machetes and rifles to seek
revenge on the civilians they
accused of supporting Muslim
rebels. Hamamatou’s mother
scooped up her baby, grabbed
the hands of two other
children and disappeared into
the masses. Souleymane was
left carrying his sister.
He headed deeper and
deeper into the forest on paths
used by local cattle herders.
His back hunched forward
from his sister’s weight. The
cacophony of insects drowned
out the sound of his labored
breathing.
The crisp morning air
gave way to an unforgiving
afternoon sun. Hamamatou

the grass moving, she feared
wild boars would come to eat
her.
She cried until her eyelids
were swollen. She said aloud:
“I have been abandoned.”
Despite decades of near
anarchy, Central African
Republic had little history of
overt sectarian violence until
2013, when Muslim rebels
from the north invaded the
capital and overthrew the
president.
The rebels, known as the
Seleka, looted and killed
Christians but largely spared
Muslims. The hatred toward
them mounted, fuelled by
longstanding resentment that
a Muslim minority of about
15 percent still made up most
of the merchant class in a
desperately poor country.
And so when the Seleka
were pushed out in January,
Christian fighters within
minutes descended upon
Muslim shops and claimed
Muslim homes. The backlash
turned into a blood bath, and
hundreds of thousands fled
their homes.
Among them was
Hamamatou’s family.
As Hamamatou sat on
the same patch of forest,
her stomach rumbled. She
dragged herself toward the
grass she had seen the cattle
eat. That night, when it
rained, she sipped from the
puddles.
She was growing weaker
by the day. And Souleymane
was wrong - no matter how
much noise she made, no one
could hear her.

numerous solicitations on Dr. Cosby’s behalf have
been made to support the campaign.
“The Students First Campaign is an
important effort and we look forward to our
guests’ support as well as hope they take the
opportunity to tour the campus and visit the
newly-established Danjuma African Art
Center, the Langston Hughes Memorial
Library, our International Cultural Center
and the many other historical or significant
sites on campus,” said Lloyd.
Guest reservations for The Chairlady’s
Garden Party are $20 per person. To make
reservations, email: alumni@lincoln.edu or call:
1–800-726-3014.
She counted the number
of times the sun rose and set.
On the third day, she heard
voices, and her heart began
to race. A group of Christians
from town passed her lying on
the ground, and laughed.
She begged for water. “If
you leave me here, I will die
here,” she cried. They kept
walking.
Hamamatou began to
lose hope of ever leaving the
forest alive. Two more times
it rained at night, leaving her
wet and cold.
She lay down her head and
waited to die.
On the tenth day, a man
with a rifle and a machete
turned up on the footpath
along with his wife. She
knew right away this was the
enemy: He wore the necklaces
and amulets the Christian
fighters claimed would protect
them from attack.
“What are you doing
here?” he asked. “Where are
your parents?” He suspected
she might be part of a trap to
ambush him.
Hamamatou was too tired
to lift up her head. “My father
is already dead, my mother
has abandoned me because I
cannot walk,” she told him.
“You are lying,” he said.
He threatened to kill her.
“What have I done to you?
Nothing,” she replied in
resignation.
As he approached her,
Hamamatou closed her eyes.
She did not know which
weapon he would kill her
with, his machete or his rifle.
As she awaited her fate, she

did not even have the energy
to cry.
Instead, the man picked
the child up like a baby and
carried her to a creek. There
he ordered his wife to wash
Hamamatou’s red and black
cotton top and her filthy skirt.
The woman bathed her in the
stream as the laundry dried in
the sun.
Then the person she least
expected to save her carried
her for several hours all the
way back to town, where
he brought her into his own
home. His wife tried to serve
her broth, but after days of
starving Hamamatou could no
longer swallow.
They took her to the home
of one of the last remaining
Muslim families in town. The
Christian militiaman never
told her his name.
She never saw him again
Hamamatou was brought
to a church in the nearby town
of Djomo, and then to another
church about 130 kilometers
(80 miles) away. She now
lives inside a large tent at
a church compound with
more than 800 other trapped
Muslims, guarded by armed
peacekeepers.
There are three other girls
with polio here, only one of
whom has a mother to look
after her. Hamamatou has
been diagnosed with malaria,
and her braids were shaved
off because of lice. Just to go
to the toilet, she must crawl
past a maze of shelters until
the red mud, still wet from
showers, cakes her forearms
and feet.
But she is alive.
She seems older than her
years, with large eyes that
reflect the intensity of her
short life. She does not blame
her brother for leaving her
behind, and hopes he has
made it to a refugee camp in
neighboring Cameroon.
“It’s not his fault he
couldn’t carry me all that
way,” she says. “He’s only
12 and he’s small for his age.
He’s not very strong.”
All Hamamatou will say
of her mother is that she
abandoned her. There are no
tears, just the same matterof-factness with which she
relates her story. Her only ties
to her old life are the shirt
she uses as a pillow and the
earrings from her brother.
She is among hundreds
of children registered
by UNICEF who await
reunification with families
that may or may not be alive.
“If you find my brother,”
she says, “tell him I am stuck
here with no way to leave.”
“I am waiting.”
Follow Krista Larson
at https://www.twitter.com/
klarsonafrica

June 7, 2014 - June 13, 2014, The Afro-American

D3

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Sinnott Offers One-Woman ‘SNAPSHOT’

WHUT TV [http://www.whut.org/whut/] will present
the television premiere of SNAPSHOT: A true story of love
and invasion on June 10. An award-winning, one-woman
play written and performed by Mitzi Sinnott, SNAPSHOT
shares her literal and figurative journey to find her father, a
veteran haunted by his experience in Vietnam. It is a poignant,
autobiographical pilgrimage shaped by race, war, and mental
illness.
Through SNAPSHOT, Sinnott tells a story that is both
intensely personal and tragically common. Portraying a variety
of characters, Sinnott, the daughter of a Black man and White
woman from Central Appalachia, evokes the singular places
and personalities that make her story so compelling and unique.
At the same time, she remains mindful that her father’s story
is just one of hundreds of thousands of veterans, whose lives
and families were similarly devastated by war and the failure to
treat their invisible, but nonetheless crippling, wounds.
SNAPSHOT was born in 2003, when Sinnott was invited to
perform at an anti-war event in New York City. After agreeing
to participate, Sinnott asked herself, “What do I know about
war?” This question led her to a family photo album, and as
she looked at the snapshots of her estranged father, who was
drafted and sent to Vietnam before her birth, Sinnott realized
that war had shaped the course of her entire life. She resolved
to make sense of this painful legacy, and to reconnect with her
father, Lorenzo Batts, Jr., whom she had not seen since 1978.

Third Street Church Marks 104th Year

commitment to the needs of the District of Columbia,” said the
Rev. Dr. Cheryl J. Sanders, the third pastor to lead the church
in 104 years. “We faced a lot of challenges in this project, from
restrictive historic preservation requires to changes in project
management and design. We’re rebuilding the foundations of
antiquated buildings and continuing our vital witness to restore
the soul of the city.”
The annex features the Pansy M. Brown Christian
Education Center, a music and fine arts studio for choral and
dance rehearsals, office and meeting space, and a kitchen.
The administrative lobby is named after the Rev. Dr. Samuel
G. Hines, whose 25-year pastorate brought global attention
to reconciliation and urban outreach. The first phase of the
project, completed in April 2007, included renovation of the
existing fellowship hall and sanctuary. The renovation required
the church to hold services at Howard University School
of Divinity for nearly four years. “With all this work done,
we’re really coming home,” Sanders said. “The Third Street
Church of God remains committed to our mission identity as
‘Ambassadors for Christ in the Nation’s capital.’ “
The weekend’s festivities begin with a free dedication
concert at 7 p.m., June 13, featuring music, dance and drama,
and special guest Steve Key and Co., a local contemporary
Gospel ensemble. The anniversary and award banquet will be at
7 p.m., June 14. The ticketed black-tie event will be at Camelot
by Martin’s in Upper Marlboro with Dr. H. Beecher Hicks
of Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington as the guest
speaker. Music will be performed by Handel and Vickey Smith
of Celebration Church in Columbia.
Three services are scheduled for Sunday, June 15:
The Rev. Hervin D. Green of Metropolitan Baptist Church
in Hollywood, Fla., will preach at the 8 a.m. Community
Worship Service.
Co-Pastor Susie Owens of Greater Mount Calvary Holy
Church in Washington will preach at 11 a.m.
The 3 p.m. dedication Service will be preached by the Rev.
John K. Jenkins Sr. of First Baptist Church of Glenarden,
following a parade on New Jersey Avenue and a ribbon cutting
ceremony.
For more information contact Pastor Cheryl Sanders at
202.347.5889 or visit www.thirdstreet.org.

Women Celebrate at First Rising Mt. Zion
Baptist Church
June 22 is Women’s Day at First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist
Church! Three dynamic speakers are scheduled to minister. At
7:45 a.m., the Rev. Agnes Taylor of the Soul Saving Center
of Christ located in northwest, D.C. will deliver the message.
At the 11 a.m. worship service, Dr. Rita Twiggs, CEO of Rita
Twiggs Ministry in Dallas, will share a word. And at the 3
p.m. service, the Rev. Dr. Regretta Ruffin, pastor of Greater
New Paul Baptist Church of northwest. D.C. will speak.
Additionally, register for their June 28 Christian Education
Conference for adults and youth, planned to enhance outreach
and prepare the family of faith for God’s will and purpose.
The conference is free and includes continental breakfast
and lunch. Register by calling the church at 202-289-4480 or
faxing 202-289-4595 so that workshop packages and proper
accommodations can be made. First Rising is located on the
corner of Sixth and N Streets, Northwest. The Rev. Reginald
Green Sr. is the Interim Pastor.

Carver Alumni Plan Celebration
Dr. Cheryl J. Sanders
The Third Street Church of God will celebrate its 104th
anniversary, June 13-15, with the dedication of a new annex.
The dedication will mark the end of a 12-year, two-phase,
$2 million building project designed to meet the needs of the
church in its second century. The church is located at 1204
Third Street, N.W. in Washington’s Mount Vernon Square
Historic District.
“The theme of the dedication, and our anniversary, ‘Rebuild
the Foundations, Restore the Soul of the City,’ underscores the
amount of work that went into this project, and celebrates our

The George Washington Carver Alumni Association
(GWCAA) represents men and women who attended Carver
High in Culpeper, Va. The school, now known as the George
Washington Carver - Piedmont Technical Education Center
served Black students from Culpeper, Orange, Madison and
Rappahannock counties from 1948 through 1968.
In observation of Dr. Carver’s 150th Memorial Birthday
celebration, alumni from Carver named schools nationwide
will gather at the Crystal Gateway Marriott, in Arlington, Va,
to commemorate this event and support a national campaign to
restore the first school that Dr. Carver attended, in Neosho, Mo.
Events begin July 11 with greetings and meetings. July 12,
the National alumni meeting will feature guest speaker the
Rev. Dr. Albert Sampson, founder and director of G.W. Carver
F.A.R.M.S. of Chicago, IL. A bal1, with entertainment by The

Smooth Sensation Band will end the evening. Tickets are $75
per person. For special GWCAA hotel rates, available until
June 20, call 1-800-229-9290. Contact Les Daniel on 301-7046138 for additional information, or send check to GWCAA, PO
Box 547, Lanham, Md. 20703-0547.

James Ingram to Perform for MCCA
Diversity Gala

Music icon,
multi-Grammy
award-winner
and back-toback Oscar
nominee, James
Ingram will sing
at the Minority
Corporate
Counsel
Association
(MCCA)
Diversity Gala
on July 25,
2014, at the
Kennedy Center
in Washington,
Music icon, multi-grammy winner
D.C. The Gala is
James Ingram to perform at
MCCA’s premier
Minority Corporate Counsel
awards program
Association (MCCA) Diversity Gala
honoring leaders
in the legal
profession for diversity and inclusion.
From funk and soul to R&B, pop, adult contemporary and
inspirational, Ingram’s multi-faceted talents have dazzled the
American music scene since the early ‘80s. The Akron, Ohio
native went from playing local bars with Revelation Funk
to Los Angeles, where he landed the types of gigs that most
aspiring musicians only dream about: singing background
vocals and playing piano for Ray Charles’ recording studio
sessions; and recording studio sessions and playing keyboards
behind the Coasters for Dick Clark.
His early success led to a relationship with Quincy Jones,
who invited Ingram to record both “Just Once” and “One
Hundred Ways” on Jones’ upcoming album, The Dude.
Released in 1980, The Dude was a multi-platinum international
success and resulted in three Grammy nominations for Ingram:
Best New Artist, Best Pop Male Vocal, and Best R&B Vocal
for “One Hundred Ways,” for which he won his first Grammy.
Ingram also made Grammy history when, in his first live
performance ever as a singer, he performed “Just Once” as the
telecast’s opening act, became the first artist to open a Grammy
ceremony with a ballad and the only artist to win a Grammy
without having his own album in release. The Dude remains the
most Grammy-nominated album in history and marked the first
of 15 nominations Ingram has received to date.
After this stunning debut, Ingram’s much-anticipated
1983 solo album, It’s Your Night, surpassed industry
expectations. The album was the debut for the Michael
McDonald collaboration “Yah Mo Be There,” (Ingram’s 2nd
Grammy) which was honored with the Grammy for Best R&B
Performance for a Group or Duo. It’s Your Night sold nearly
one million copies; secured an unprecedented achievement by
appearing simultaneously on both The Top 20 Pop and The Top
5 R&B Charts. Ultimately, “Yah Mo Be There” became the
most-played song of the year.
The blessings of success also have allowed Ingram to
pursue two of his personal passions: humanitarian work and
composition for live theater. In 1987, Ingram was handpicked by Quincy Jones to perform in “We Are the World,”
the universal gift and legendary singing and fund-raising
effort from the recording industry, which raised more than
$100 million in aid for those suffering from famine in Africa.
Ingram also continues to work with long-time collaborator,
choreographer/producer Debbie Allen on a number of musical
projects. Most recently, they partnered on Stand (In the Light)
and several musical theater works including “Brothers of the
Night, “The Legend” and “Alex in Wonderland.”
To learn more about the MCCA Diversity Gala and
sponsorship opportunities, visit www.mcca.com/gala.

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Superior Court of
the District of
District of Columbia
PROBATE DIVISION
Washington, D.C.
20001-2131
Administration No.
2014ADM502
Mary E. Battle
Decedent
Christopher M. Guest
888 16th SSt. NW
Suite 800
Washington DC
Attorney
NOTICE OF
APPOINTMENT,
NOTICE TO
CREDITORS
AND NOTICE TO
UNKNOWN HEIRS
Catherine G. Hawkings,
whose addressis 3636
16th Street, NW Apt
1240, Washington DC
20010, was appointed
personal representative
of the estate of Mary E.
Battle, who died on
December 21, 2013 without a Will and will serve
without Court supervision. All unknown heirs
and heirs whose
whereabouts are unknown shall enter their
appearance in this
proceeding. Objections
to such appointment
shall be filed with the
Register of Wills, D.C.,
515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd
Floor Washington, D.C.
20001, on or before
November 23, 2014.
Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the
Register of Wills or filed
with the Register of Wills
with a copy to the undersigned, on or before
November 23, 2014, or
be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs
or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice
by mail within 25 days of
its first publication shall
so inform the Register of
Wills, including name,
address and relationship.
Date of Publication:
May 23, 2014
Name of newspaper:
Afro-American
Washington Law Reporter
Catherine G. Hawkins
Personal
Representative

Superior Court of
the District of
District of Columbia
PROBATE DIVISION
Washington, D.C.
20001-2131
Administration No.
2014ADM498
Rachel Inez Estep
Decedent
NOTICE OF
APPOINTMENT,
NOTICE TO
CREDITORS
AND NOTICE TO
UNKNOWN HEIRS
Deborah McCoy-Lewis
and Sheila Hinton,
whose addresses are
3200 Apple Green Ln,
Bowie, MD 20716 and
12009 Wimbleton St. Upper Marlboro MD 20774
were appointed personal
representatives of the
estate of Rachel Inez
Estep, who died on
December 4, 2013 without a Will and will serve
without Court supervision. All unknown heirs
and heirs whose
whereabouts are unknown shall enter their
appearance in this
proceeding. Objections
to such appointment
shall be filed with the
Register of Wills, D.C.,
515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd
Floor Washington, D.C.
20001, on or before
November 30, 2014.
Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the
Register of Wills or filed
with the Register of Wills
with a copy to the undersigned, on or before
November 30, 2014, or
be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs
or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice
by mail within 25 days of
its first publication shall
so inform the Register of
Wills, including name,
address and relationship.
Date of Publication:
May 30, 2014
Name of newspaper:
Afro-American
Washington
Law Reporter

05/23, 05/30,Tue
06/06/14
TYPESET:
May 27 14:01:58 EDT 2014
Superior Court of
the District of
District of Columbia
PROBATE DIVISION
Washington, D.C.
20001-2131
Administration No.
2014ADM511
Albert Melvin Valentine
Decedent
William R. Voltz
2120 L. Street NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20037
Attorney
NOTICE OF
APPOINTMENT,
NOTICE TO
CREDITORS
AND NOTICE TO
UNKNOWN HEIRS
Lorretta A. Valentine,
whose address is 3361
Martin Luther King Avenue, SE Washington DC
20032, was appointed
personal representative
of the estate of Albert
Melvin Valentine, who
died on December 31,
2013 withouta Will and
will serve without Court
supervision. All unknown
heirs and heirs whose
whereabouts are unknown shall enter their
appearance in this
proceeding. Objections
to such appointment
shall be filed with the
Register of Wills, D.C.,
515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd
Floor Washington, D.C.
20001, on or before
November 30, 2014.
Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the
Register of Wills or filed
with the Register of Wills
with a copy to the undersigned, on or before
November 30, 2014, or
be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs
or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice
by mail within 25 days of
its first publication shall
so inform the Register of
Wills, including name,
address and relationship.
Date of Publication:
May 30, 2014
Name of newspaper:
Afro-American
Washington
Law Reporter
Lorretta A. Valentine
Personal
Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
REGISTER OF WILLS
05/30, 06/06, 06/13/14

Superior Court of
the District of
District of Columbia
PROBATE DIVISION
Washington, D.C.
20001-2131
Administration No.
2014ADM387
Mary L. Irving
Decedent
Thomas H. Queen Esq
530 Eighth Street SE
Washington, DC 20003
Attorney
NOTICE OF
APPOINTMENT,
NOTICE TO
CREDITORS
AND NOTICE TO
UNKNOWN HEIRS
Carroll M. Duvall, whose
address is 415 I Street
N E , Wa s h i n g t o n D C
20003 was appointed
personal representative
of the estate of Mary L.
Irving, who died on April
11, 2009 with a Will and
will serve without Court
supervision. All unknown
heirs and heirs whose
whereabouts are unknown shall enter their
appearance in this
proceeding. Objections
to such appointment (or
to the probate of decedent´s will) shall be
filed with the Register of
Wills, D.C., 515 5th
Street, N.W., 3rd Floor
Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .
20001, on or before
November 30, 2014.
Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the
Register of Wills or filed
with the Register of Wills
with a copy to the undersigned, on or before
November 30, 2014, or
be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs
or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice
by mail within 25 days of
its first publication shall
so inform the Register of
Wills, including name,
address and relationship.
Date of Publication:
May 30, 2014
Name of newspaper:
Afro-American
Washington
Law Reporter

Superior Court of
the District of
District of Columbia
PROBATE DIVISION
Washington, D.C.
20001-2131
Administration No.
2014ADM465
Melba L. Watkins
AKA
Melba Lynne
Robinson-Watkins
Decedent
William A. Bland Esq
1140 Connecticut Ave
NW
Washington, DC 20036
Attorney
NOTICE OF
APPOINTMENT,
NOTICE TO
CREDITORS
AND NOTICE TO
UNKNOWN HEIRS
Barbara A. Robinson,
whose address is 6216
District Heights Parkway,
District Heights MD
20747 was appointed
personal representative
of the estate of Melba L.
Watkins, who died on
December 18, 2013 without a Will and will serve
without Court supervision. All unknown heirs
and heirs whose
whereabouts are unknown shall enter their
appearance in this
proceeding. Objections
to such appointment
shall be filed with the
Register of Wills, D.C.,
515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd
Floor Washington, D.C.
20001, on or before
November 30, 2014.
Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the
Register of Wills or filed
with the Register of Wills
with a copy to the undersigned, on or before
November 30, 2014, or
be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs
or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice
by mail within 25 days of
its first publication shall
so inform the Register of
Wills, including name,
address and relationship.
Date of Publication:
May 30, 2014
Name of newspaper:
Afro-American
Washington
Law Reporter

TRUE TEST COPY
REGISTER OF WILLS

TYPESET: Tue Jun 03

05/30, 06/06, 06/13/14

Superior Court of
the District of
District of Columbia
PROBATE DIVISION
Washington, D.C.
20001-2131
Administration No.
2014ADM164
Schuyler T. Eldridge III
Decedent
NOTICE OF
APPOINTMENT,
NOTICE TO
CREDITORS
AND NOTICE TO
UNKNOWN HEIRS
Hallie M. Eldridge,
whose address is 1720
Michigan Ave NE
Washington DC 20017
was appointed personal
representative of the
estate of Schuyler T. Eldridge III, who died on
December 16, 2013 withouta Will and will serve
without Court supervision. All unknown heirs
and heirs whose
whereabouts are unknown shall enter their
appearance in this
proceeding. Objections
to such appointment
shall be filed with the
Register of Wills, D.C.,
515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd
Floor Washington, D.C.
20001, on or before
December 6, 2014.
Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the
Register of Wills or filed
with the Register of Wills
with a copy to the undersigned, on or before
December 6, 2014, or be
forever barred. Persons
believed to be heirs or
legatees of the decedent
who do not receive a
copy of this notice by mail
within 25 days of its first
publication shall so inform the Register of
Wills, including name,
address and relationship.
Date of Publication:
June 6, 2014
Name of newspaper:
Afro-American
Washington
Law Reporter

Rates
the Legal
District Advertising
of
District
of Columbia
Effective
October 1, 2008
PROBATE DIVISION
Washington, D.C.
20001-2131
PROBATE
Administration
No. DIVISION
2014ADM529(Estates)
Shirley A. Cumberlan202-332-0080
der
DecedentPROBATE NOTICES
TYPESET: Tue Jun 03 12:43:35 EDT 2014
NOTICE OF
APPOINTMENT,
NOTICE TO
Superior Court of $180.00 per 3 weeks
a. Order Nisi
$ 60 per insertion
CREDITORS
the District of
b. Small Estates (single publication
$ 60 per insertion
AND NOTICE TO
District of Columbia
UNKNOWN
HEIRS
PROBATE DIVISION
c. Notice to Creditors Kacie Cumberlander III,
Washington, D.C.
1. Domestic
60 per insertion
$180.00 per 3 weeks
whose address is$ 7801
20001-2131
Mike Shapiro Drive,
Administration No. $180.00 per 3 weeks
2. Foreign
$ Clin60 per insertion
ton MD 20735 was ap2014ADM536
d. Escheated Estates
60 perSinsertion
$360.00 per 6 weeks
pointed personal $repreherry Demetrius
sentative
of
the
estate
of
e. Standard Probates
$125.00
Dunn
Shirley A. Cumberlander, Decedent
who died on December
TYPESET: Tue Jun 03 12:43:14
NOTICE OF
25, 2013 without
a Will,
APPOINTMENT,
CIVIL
NOTICES
and will serve without
NOTICE TO
a. Name Changes 202-879-1133
$ 80.00
Court supervision. All unCREDITORS
Superior Court of
known heirs and heirs
AND NOTICE TO $ 200.00
the District of
b. Real Property
whose whereabouts are
UNKNOWN HEIRS
District of Columbia
unknown shall enter their Mary Catherine BlackPROBATE DIVISION
appearance in this
well, whose address is
Washington, D.C.
proceeding. FAMILY
Objections COURT
600 Barnes Street, NE
20001-2131
to such appointment
Washington DC 20019
Administration No.
202-879-1212
12:44:18 EDT 2014
shall be filed with the was appointed personal
2013ADM422
Register
of Wills, D.C.,RELATIONS
DOMESTIC
representative of the Dora Rhone
515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd estate of Sherry Deme- Decedent
202-879-0157
Floor Washington,
D.C. trius Dunn, who died on
NOTICE OF
20001, on or before January 29, 2014 withAPPOINTMENT,
D e c e m b e r 6 , 2 0 1 4 . outa Will, and will serve
NOTICE TO
a. Absent Defendant
Claims against the de- without Court supervi-$ 150.00
CREDITORS
cedent shall be pre- sion. All unknown heirs
AND NOTICE TO
b. Absolute Divorce
sented to the under- and heirs whose where-$ 150.00
UNKNOWN HEIRS
signed with a copy to the abouts are unknown$150.00
Nathan A. Neal Esq,
c. Custody Divorce
Register of Wills or filed shall enter their appear- whose address is 209
with the Register of Wills ance in this proceeding. Kennedy Street NW
O b j e262,
c t i o nPublic
s t o s uNotices
ch
with a
copy to the under- ext.
Washington
To place your ad, call
1-800-237-6892,
$50.00 &DCup20011
signed, on or before appointment shall be was appointed personal
with the are
Register
of representative
of the
6, 2014, or Legal
be filed
depending onDecember
size, Baltimore
Notices
$24.84
per inch.
estate of Dora Rhone,
forever barred. Persons Wills, D.C., 515 5th
1-800
(AFRO)
892
believed to be heirs or Street, N.W., 3rd Floor who died on June 28,
ash
ington, D.C.
2009 244
without a Will, and
of the decedent
For Proof oflegatees
Publication,
please W
call
1-800-237-6892,
ext.
who do not receive a 20001, on or before will serve with Court suD
e
c
e
m
b
e
r
6
,
2
0
1
4
.
pervision. All unknown
copy of this notice by mail
within 25 days of its first Claims against the de- heirs and heirs whose
publication shall so in- cedent shall be pre- whereabouts are unsented to the under- known shall enter their
form the Register of
Wills, including name, signed with a copy to the a p p e a r a n c e i n t h i s
address and relation- Register of Wills or filed proceeding. Objections
with the Register of Wills to such appointment (or
ship.
with a copy to the under- to the probate of deDate of Publication:
NOTICES
TYPESET: Tue Jun 03 12:43:53
EDT LEGAL
2014
signed, on or before cedent´s will) shall be
June 6, 2014
December 6, 2014, or be filed with the Register of
Name of newspaper:
forever barred. Persons Wills, D.C., 515 5th
Afro-American
Superior Court of
believed
to be heirs or Street, N.W., 3rd Floor
Washington
the District of
legatees
of the decedent W a s h i n g t o n , D . C .
Law Reporter
District of Columbia
who do not receive a 20001, on or before
PROBATE DIVISION
Kacie Cumberlander III copy of this notice by mail D e c e m b e r 6 , 2 0 1 4 .
Washington, D.C.
Personal within 25 days of its first Claims against the de20001-2131
Representative publication shall so in- cedent shall be preAdministration No.
form the Register of
sented to the under2014ADM529
Wills, including name, signed with a copy to the
Shirley A. Cumberlan- TRUE TEST COPY
address
and
relationRegister of Wills or filed
REGISTER OF WILLS
der
ship.
with the Register of Wills
Decedent
TYPESET: Tue Jun 03 12:43:35
EDT
2014
Date of Publication:
with a copy to the under06/06, 06/13, 06/20/14
NOTICE OF
June 6, 2014
signed, on or before
APPOINTMENT,
Name of newspaper:
December 6, 2014, or be
NOTICE TO
Superior Court of
Afro-American
forever barred. Persons
CREDITORS
the District of
Washington
believed to be heirs or
AND NOTICE TO
District of Columbia
Law Reporter
legatees of the decedent
UNKNOWN HEIRS
PROBATE DIVISION
who do not receive a
Kacie Cumberlander III,
Washington, D.C.
Sherry Demetrius Dunn copy of this notice by mail
whose address is 7801
20001-2131
Personal within 25 days of its first
Mike Shapiro Drive, ClinAdministration No.
Representative publication shall so inton MD 20735 was ap2014ADM536
form the Register of
pointed personal repre- S h e r r y D e m e t r i u s
TRUE TEST COPY
Wills, including name,
sentative of the estate of Dunn
REGISTER OF WILLS
address and relationShirley A. Cumberlander, Decedent
ship.
TYPESET:
Tue Jun 03 12:43:14
EDT 2014
who died on December
NOTICE OF
06/06, 06/13, 06/20/14
Date of Publication:
25, 2013 without a Will,
APPOINTMENT,
June
6,
2014
and will serve without
NOTICE TO
Name of newspaper:
Court supervision. All unSuperior Court of
CREDITORS
Afro-American
known heirs and heirs
the District of
AND NOTICE TO
Washington
whose whereabouts are
District of Columbia
UNKNOWN HEIRS
Law Reporter
unknown shall enter their Mary Catherine BlackPROBATE DIVISION
appearance in this
Washington, D.C.
well, whose address is
Nathan A. Neal Esq
proceeding. Objections 600 Barnes Street, NE
20001-2131
Personal
to such appointment Washington DC 20019
Administration No.
Representative
shall be filed with the was appointed personal
2013ADM422
Register of Wills, D.C., representative of the Dora Rhone
TRUE TEST COPY
515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd estate of Sherry Deme- Decedent
REGISTER OF WILLS
Floor Washington, D.C. trius Dunn, who died on
NOTICE OF
20001, on or before January 29, 2014 withAPPOINTMENT,
6/06, 06/13, 06/20/14
D e c e m b e r 6 , 2 0 1 4 . outa Will, and will serve
NOTICE TO
Claims against the de- without Court superviCREDITORS
cedent shall be pre- sion. All unknown heirs
AND NOTICE TO
sented to the under- and heirs whose whereUNKNOWN HEIRS
signed with a copy to the abouts are unknown Nathan A. Neal Esq,
Register of Wills or filed shall enter their appear- whose address is 209
with the Register of Wills ance in this proceeding. Kennedy Street NW
with a copy to the under- O b j e c t i o n s t o s u c h
Washington DC 20011
signed, on or before appointment shall be was appointed personal
December 6, 2014, or be filed with the Register of representative of the
forever barred. Persons Wills, D.C., 515 5th
estate of Dora Rhone,
believed to be heirs or Street, N.W., 3rd Floor who died on June 28,
legatees of the decedent W a s h i n g t o n , D . C .
2009 without a Will, and
who do not receive a 20001, on or before will serve with Court sucopy of this notice by mail D e c e m b e r 6 , 2 0 1 4 . pervision. All unknown
within 25 days of its first Claims against the de- heirs and heirs whose
publication shall so in- cedent shall be pre- whereabouts are unform the Register of
sented to the under- known shall enter their
Wills, including name, signed with a copy to the a p p e a r a n c e i n t h i s
address and relation- Register of Wills or filed proceeding. Objections
ship.
with the Register of Wills to such appointment (or
Date of Publication:
with a copy to the under- to the probate of deJune 6, 2014
signed, on or before cedent´s will) shall be
Name of newspaper:
December 6, 2014, or be filed with the Register of
Afro-American
forever barred. Persons Wills, D.C., 515 5th
Washington
believed to be heirs or Street, N.W., 3rd Floor
Law Reporter
legatees of the decedent W a s h i n g t o n , D . C .
who do not receive a 20001, on or before
Kacie Cumberlander III
December 6, 2014.

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202-332-0080

D4

supervision. All unknown
heirs and heirs whose
whereabouts are unknown shall enter their
appearance in this
proceeding. Objections
to such appointment
shall be filed with the
Register of Wills, D.C.,
TYPESET:
Tue
Jun
03
12:42:52
EDT
2014
TYPESET:
Tue
May
20
14:22:49
EDT
2014 3rd
5th Street,
N.W.,
TYPESET:
Tue May 20 17:31:05
2014
LEGAL NOTICES
LEGALEDT
NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICES 515
LEGAL
NOTICES
Floor Washington, D.C.
20001, on or before
November 23, 2014.
Superior Court of
Superior Court of
SUPERIOR COURT OF
Claims against the dethe District of
the District of
THE DISTRICT OF
cedent shall be preDistrict of Columbia
District of Columbia
COLUMBIA
sented to the underPROBATE DIVISION
PROBATE DIVISION
PROBATE DIVISION
signed with a copy to the
Washington,
D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Register of Wills or filed
20001-2131
20001-2131
20001-2131
with the Register of Wills
Administration No.
Administration No.
Foreign No.
with a copy to the under2013ADM980
2014ADM494
2014FEP67
signed, on or before
Joseph Greene
Melvina E. Thompson
Date of Death
November 23, 2014, or
Decedent
Decedent
June 8, 2013
be forever barred. PerNOTICE
OF
NOTICE OF
Benjamin W. Edwards
sons believed to be heirs
APPOINTMENT,
APPOINTMENT,
Decedent
or legatees of the deNOTICE TO
NOTICE TO
NOTICE OF
cedent who do not reCREDITORS
CREDITORS
APPOINTMENT
ceive a copy of this notice
AND NOTICE TO
AND NOTICE TO
OF FOREIGN
by mail within 25 days of
UNKNOWN
HEIRS
UNKNOWN HEIRS
PERSONAL
Regina
Brennon,
whose
Antoinette W. Alexander its first publication shall
REPRESENTATIVE
so inform the Register of
address is 3352 Baker whose address is
AND
Street NE Washington 12 Hawthorne Court NE Wills, including name,
NOTICE TO
DC 20019 was appointed Washington DC 20017 address and relationCREDITORS
personal representative was appointed personal ship.
Kim Edwards whose adof the estate of Joseph representative of the Date of Publication:
dress is 11005 Birch Way
May 23, 2014
Greene, who died on Au- estate of Melvina E.
Clinton Maryland 20735
gust 17, 2013 with a Will, Thompson, who died on Name of newspaper:
was appointed personal
and will serve without February 25, 2014 with a Afro-American
representative of the
Court supervision. All un- Will and will serve with- Washington
estate of Benjamin W.
known heirs and heirs out Court supervision. All Law Reporter
Edwards, deceased, on
whose whereabouts are unknown heirs and heirs
February 27, 2014, by
Stephen King
unknown shall enter their whose where-abouts are
the Orphans’ Court for
Personal
appearance in this
unknown shall enter their
Prince George’s County,
Representative
proceeding. Objections a p p e a r a n c e i n t h i s
State of Maryland.
to such appointment (or proceeding. Objections
Service of process may
to the probate of de- to such appointment (or TRUE TEST COPY
be made upon Serena
cedent´s will) shall be to the probate of de- REGISTER OF WILLS
Hayes, 1532 Gallatin
filed with the Register of cedent´s will) shall be TYPESET: Tue May 20
Place, NE Washington,
Wills, D.C., 515 5th
filed with the Register of 05/23, 05/30, 06/06/14
DC 20017 whose desStreet, N.W., 3rd Floor Wills, D.C., 515 5th
ignation as District of
Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .
Street, N.W., 3rd Floor
Columbia agent has
Superior Court of
20001, on or before W a s h i n g t o n , D . C .
been filed with the Registhe District of
D
e
c
e
m
b
e
r
6
,
2
0
1
4
.
20001, on or before
ter of Wills, D.C.
District of Columbia
Claims against the de- November 23, 2014.
The decedent owned the
PROBATE DIVISION
cedent shall be pre- Claims against the defollowing District of
Washington, D.C.
sented to the under- cedent shall be preColombia real property:
20001-2131
signed with a copy to the sented to the under101 56th Street SE,
Administration No.
Register of Wills or filed signed with a copy to the
Washington DC 20019
2014ADM489
with the Register of Wills Register of Wills or filed
Claims against the deQueen E. Brown
with a copy to the under- with the Register of Wills
cedent may be preDecedent
signed, on or before with a copy to the undersented to the underNOTICE OF
December 6, 2014, or be signed, on or before
signed and filed with the
APPOINTMENT,
forever barred. Persons November 23, 2014, or
Register of Wills for the
NOTICE TO
believed to be heirs or be forever barred. PerDistrict of Columbia, 500
CREDITORS
legatees
of
the
decedent
sons
believed
to
be
heirs
Indiana Avenue, N.W.,
AND NOTICE TO
who do not receive a or legatees of the deWashington, D.C. 20001
UNKNOWN HEIRS
copy of this notice by mail cedent who do not rewithin 6 months from the
Christine E. Brown and
within 25 days of its first ceive a copy of this notice
date of first publication of
June E. B. Simms whose
publication shall so in- by mail within 25 days of
this notice.
addressesare 6738
form the Register of
its first publication shall Mountain Lake Place MD
Wills, including name, so inform the Register of
Kim Edwards
20743 and 9302 Eldon
address and relation- Wills, including name,
Personal
Drive, MD 20735 were
ship.
address and relation- appointed personal reRepresentative(s)
Date of Publication:
ship.
TRUE TEST COPY
presentatives of the
June 6, 2014
Date of Publication:
REGISTER OF WILLS
estate of Queen E.
Name
of
newspaper:
May
23,
2014
Date of first publication:
Brown, who died on
Afro-American
Name of newspaper:
May 23, 2014
September 19, 2013
Washington
Afro-American
Name of newspapers
without a Will and will
Law Reporter
Washington
and/or periodical:
serve without Court suLaw Reporter
The Daily Washington
pervision. All unknown
Regina Brennon
Law Reporter
heirs and heirs whose
Personal
Antionette
W.
Alexander
The Afro-American
whereabouts are unRepresentative
Personal
TYPESET: Tue May 20 14:21:22 EDT 2014
known shall enter their
Representative a p p e a r a n c e i n t h i s
05/23, 05/30, 06/06/14
TRUE TEST COPY
proceeding. Objections
REGISTER OF WILLS
TRUE TEST COPY
to such appointment
Superior Court of
REGISTER OF WILLS
shall be filed with the
the District of
06/06, 06/13, 06/20/14
TYPESET: Tue May 20 14:23:58
EDT
2014
Register of
Wills,
D.C.,
District of Columbia
05/23,
05/30,
06/06/14
515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd
PROBATE DIVISION
Floor Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
TYPESET: Tue May 20 14:21:02
EDT
2014of
Superior
Court
20001, on or before
20001-2131
the District of
November 23, 2014.
Administration No.
District of Columbia
Claims against the de2013ADM001050
PROBATE DIVISION
Superior Court of
cedent shall be preHelen Veronica Ryan
Washington, D.C.
sented to the underDecedent
the District of
20001-2131
signed with a copy to the
Alan B. Frankie Esq
District of Columbia
Administration
No.
Register of Wills or filed
751 Rockville Pike
PROBATE DIVISION
2014ADM461
with the Register of Wills
Suite 7
Washington, D.C.
Cashmere L. Hardy
with a copy to the underRockville, MD 20852
20001-2131
Decedent
signed, on or before
Attorney
Administration No.
NOTICE OF
November 23, 2014, or
NOTICE OF
2014ADM336
APPOINTMENT,
be forever barred. PerAPPOINTMENT,
Burneatta E. Floyd
NOTICE
TO
sons believed to be heirs
NOTICE TO
Decedent
CREDITORS
or legatees of the deCREDITORS
Matthew P. Maloney
AND NOTICE TO
cedent who do not reAND NOTICE TO
Esq
UNKNOWN HEIRS
ceive a copy of this notice
UNKNOWN HEIRS
10400
Connecticut
Ave
Faithe Hardy, whose ad- by mail within 25 days of
Patricia Ryan Stahl,
Ste.
602
dress
is
633
Hamilton
its first publication shall
whose address is 201
Kensington, MD 20895
Street, NW Washington so inform the Register of
East Dewart Street,
DC 20011 was appointed Wills, including name,
Shamokin, PA 17872 Attorney
NOTICE OF
personal representative address and relationwas appointed personal
APPOINTMENT,
of the estate of Cash- ship.
representative of the
NOTICE
TO
mere L. Hardy, who died Date of Publication:
estate of Helen Veronica
CREDITORS
on January 2, 2014 with- May 23, 2014
Ryan, who died on FebAND NOTICE TO
out a Will and will serve Name of newspaper:
ruary 26, 2000 without a
without Court supervi- Afro-American
Will and will serve with UNKNOWN HEIRS
Court supervision. All un- Reginald W. Galloway Jr. sion. All unknown heirs Washington
known heirs and heirs whose address is 4217 a n d h e i r s w h o s e Law Reporter
whereabouts are unwhose whereabouts are W h e e l e r R d . S E
Christine E. Brown
unknown shall enter their Washington DC 20032 known shall enter their
June E. B. Simms
appearance in this
was appointed personal a p p e a r a n c e i n t h i s
Personal
proceeding. Objections representative of the proceeding. Objections
Representatives
to such appointment (or estate of Burneatta E. to such appointment
to the probate of de- Floyd, who died on shall be filed with the
cedent´s will) shall be January 17, 2013 without Register of Wills, D.C., TRUE TEST COPY
filed with the Register of a Will and will serve with- 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd REGISTER OF WILLS
Floor Washington, D.C. TYPESET: Tue May 20
Wills, D.C., 515 5th
out Court supervision. All 20001, on or before 05/23,
05/30, 06/06/14
Street, N.W., 3rd Floor
unknown
heirs
and
heirs
November 23, 2014.
Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .
whose
where-abouts
are
Claims against the de20001, on or before
Superior Court of
November 23, 2014. unknown shall enter their cedent shall be prethe District of
sented to the underDistrict of Columbia
Claims against the de- a p p e a r a n c e i n t h i s
PROBATE DIVISION
cedent shall be pre- proceeding. Objections signed with a copy to the
Washington, D.C.
sented to the under- to such appointment Register of Wills or filed
20001-2131
signed with a copy to the shall be filed with the with the Register of Wills
Administration
No.
Register
of
Wills,
D.C.,
with a copy to the underRegister of Wills or filed
2014ADM457
with the Register of Wills 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd signed, on or before
with a copy to the under- Floor Washington, D.C. November 23, 2014, or Adam C. Turner III
signed, on or before 20001, on or before be forever barred. Per- Decedent
NOTICE OF
November 23, 2014, or November 23, 2014. sons believed to be heirs
APPOINTMENT,
be forever barred. Per- Claims against the de- or legatees of the deNOTICE TO
sons believed to be heirs cedent shall be pre- cedent who do not reCREDITORS
or legatees of the de- sented to the under- ceive a copy of this notice
AND NOTICE TO
cedent who do not re- signed with a copy to the by mail within 25 days of
UNKNOWN HEIRS
ceive a copy of this notice Register of Wills or filed its first publication shall Brenda L. Turner whose
by mail within 25 days of with the Register of Wills so inform the Register of address is 2723 Knox
its first publication shall with a copy to the under- Wills, including name, Terrace SE Washington
so inform the Register of signed, on or before address and relation- DC 20020, was appointed personal repreship.
Wills, including name,
November 23, 2014, or Date of Publication:
sentative of the estate of
address and relationbe
forever
barred.
PerAdam C. Turner III who
May 23, 2014
ship.
sons
believed
to
be
heirs
died on August 25,
Name of newspaper:
Date of Publication:
2012without a Will and
or
legatees
of
the
deAfro-American
May 23, 2014
will serve without Court
cedent who do not re- Washington
Name of newspaper:
supervision. All unknown
ceive a copy of this notice Law Reporter
Afro-American
heirs and heirs whose
by mail within 25 days of
Washington
where-abouts are units first publication shall
Cashmere L. Hardy known shall enter their
Law Reporter
so inform the Register of
Personal a p p e a r a n c e i n t h i s
Representative proceeding. Objections
Patricia Ryan Stahl Wills, including name,
Personal address and relationto such appointment (or
TRUE TEST COPY
Representative ship.
to the probate of deREGISTER OF WILLS
cedent´s will) shall be
Date of Publication:
TRUE TEST COPY
filed with EDT
the Register
TYPESET: Tue May 20 14:23:39
2014 of
May 23, 2014
Wills, D.C., 515 5th
05/23, 05/30, 06/06/14
REGISTER OF WILLS
Name of newspaper:
Street,
N.W.,
3rd
Floor
Afro-American
Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .
05/23, 05/30, 06/06/14
Superior Court of
Washington
20001, on or before
the District of
Law Reporter
November 23, 2014
District of Columbia
Claims against the dePROBATE DIVISION
Burneatta E. Floyd
cedent shall be preW
a
s
h
i
n
g
t
o
n
,
D
.
C
.
Personal
sented to the under20001-2131
signed with a copy to the
Representative
Administration No.
Register of Wills or filed
2014ADM499
with the Register of Wills
TRUE TEST COPY
Elizabeth Johnson
with a copy to the underREGISTER OF WILLS
signed, on or before
Decedent
November 23, 2014 or be
NOTICE OF
05/23, 05/30, 06/06/14
forever barred. Persons
APPOINTMENT,
believed to be heirs or
NOTICE TO
legatees of the decedent
CREDITORS
who do not receive a
AND NOTICE TO
copy of this notice by mail
UNKNOWN HEIRS
• Your
Stephen King whose ad- within 25 days of its first
publication shall so indress is 11654 Plaza form the Register of
America Drive #337 Res- Wills, including name,
History
ton VA 20190 was ap- address and relationpointed personal repre- ship.
• Your
sentative of the estate of Date of Publication:
Elizabeth Johnson who May 23, 2014
Community
died on February 13, Name of newspaper:
2014 without a Will and Afro-American
will serve without Court Washington
• Your
supervision. All unknown Law Reporter
heirs and heirs whose
Adam C. Turner III
News
whereabouts are unPersonal
known shall enter their
Representative
appearance in this
proceeding. Objections
TEST COPY
to such appointment TRUE
REGISTER OF WILLS
shall be filed with the
Register of Wills, D.C.,
515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd 05/23, 05/30, 06/06/14
Floor Washington, D.C.
20001, on or before
November 23, 2014.
Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the under-

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South Building
sented to the underWashington DC 20004
signed with a copy to the
Attorney
Register of Wills or filed
NOTICE OF
with the Register of Wills
APPOINTMENT,
with a copy to the underNOTICE TO
signed, on or before
CREDITORS
December 6, 2014, or be
AND NOTICE TO
forever barred. Persons
UNKNOWN HEIRS
believed to be heirs or
TYPESET:
Tue
May
20
17:28:24
EDT
2014
Angelique
P.
Woodson,
the decedent
LEGAL NOTICES
LEGALof NOTICES
LEGAL NOTICES legatees
whose address is 3701 who do not receive a
Melrose Ave, Forestville, copy of this notice by mail
MD 20747 was apSuperior Court of
within 25 days of its first
pointed personal repre- publication shall so inthe District of
sentative of the estate of form the Register of
District of Columbia
PROBATE DIVISION
B T h r e e F e a t h e r s Wills, including name,
Washington, D.C.
Kazemi, who died on address and relation20001-2131
December 17, 2013 with- ship.
Administration No.
out a Will and will serve Date of Publication:
2014ADM478
without Court supervi- June 6, 2014
Earnestine Ervin
sion. All unknown heirs Name of newspaper:
AKA
a n d h e i r s w h o s e Afro-American
Earnestine M. Ervin
whereabouts are un- Washington
Decedent
known shall enter their Law Reporter
NOTICE OF
appearance in this
APPOINTMENT,
proceeding. Objections
Leroy K. Baker
NOTICE TO
to such appointment
Personal
CREDITORS
shall be filed with the
Representative
AND NOTICE TO
Register of Wills, D.C.,
UNKNOWN HEIRS
515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd TRUE TEST COPY
Linda E. Graves and Cal- Floor Washington, D.C. REGISTER OF WILLS
lestine E. Adams whose 20001, on or before
addresses are 2503 November 23, 2014. 06/06,
06/13, Tue
06/20/14
TYPESET:
Jun 03 12:42:02 EDT 2014
Wash Overlook Dr. Ft Claims against the deWashington MD 20744 cedent shall be preand 5610 Prescott Ct., sented to the underDISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WATER AND SEWER AUTHORITY
Capitol Heights MD
signed with a copy to the
20743, were appointed Register of Wills or filed
INVITATION TO BID
personal representatives with the Register of Wills
of the estate of Ear- with a copy to the underINVITATION NO. 130060
nestine Ervin AKA Ear- signed, on or before
nestine M. Ervin, who November 23, 2014, or
POTOMAC PUMPING STATION REHABILITATION PHASE III
died on January 29, 2013 be forever barred. Perwith a Will and will serve sons believed to be heirs
The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DCWater) is soliciting bids for
without Court supervi- or legatees of the deInvitation No.130060: Potomac Pumping Station Rehabilitation Phase III.
sion. All unknown heirs cedent who do not reand heirs whose where- ceive a copy of this notice
The following listing enumerates the major items of work included in the contract:
14:21:58
EDT unknown
2014
abouts are
*Demolition and replacement of instrumentation and control systems, equipment,
by mail within 25 days of
shall enter their appear- its first publication shall
piping and valves and general building construction..
ance in this proceeding. so inform the Register of
Objections to such
The project requires completion within 730 consecutive calendar days.This project is
Wills, including name,
appointment (or to the
estimated to cost between $10,000,000.00 and $15,000,000.00.
address and relationprobate of decedent´s
ship.
will) shall be filed with the
DCWater will receive Bids until 2:00 p.m., local standard time on July 2, 2014.
Register of Wills, D.C., Date of Publication:
A Pre-Bid Conference will be conducted on June 17, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. at the
May
23,
2014
515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd
Potomac Pumping Station site.
Floor Washington, D.C. Name of newspaper:
Bid for this project will be procured in the open market with preference given for the
20001, on or before Afro-American
utilization of local and local small business enterprises. See Instructions to Bidders
November 11, 2014. Washington
Law
Reporter
for additional information.
Claims against the decedent shall be preAngelique
P.
Woodson
The Davis-Bacon wage determinations shall apply.
sented to the underPersonal
signed with a copy to the
Representative
DCWater Owner Controlled Insurance Program will provide insurance.
Register of Wills or filed
with the Register of Wills
TRUE
TEST
COPY
Bid documents are available at the Department of Procurement, 5000 Overlook
with a copy to the underAvenue, SW, Washington, DC 20032. Sets of Bidding Documents can be procured
signed, on or before REGISTER OF WILLS
for a non-refundable $50.00 purchase price each, payable to DCWater. Payment
November 23, 2014, or TYPESET: Tue Jun 03 12:42:52
2014
must beEDT
in the
form of a money order, certified check or a company check.
be forever barred. Per- 05/23, 05/30/ 06/06/14
Documents can be shipped to Bidders providing a Federal Express account number.
sons believed to be heirs
or legatees of the deThe DCWater Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant is a secured
Superior Court of
cedent who do not refacility. Persons intending to pick-up Bidding Documents are to contact the Departthe District of
ceive a copy of this notice
ment of Procurement at 202 787 2020 for access authorization.
District
of
Columbia
by mail within 25 days of
PROBATE
DIVISION
its first publication shall
For procurement information contact Mrs. DeNerika Johnson; email denerika.
Washington, D.C.
so inform the Register of
johnson@dcwater.com, (voice 202 787 2113).
20001-2131
Wills, including name,
Administration No.
address and relationFor technical information contact: DETS-Construction.Bid.Inquiry@dcwater.com
2013ADM980
ship.
Joseph Greene
Date of Publication:
View DCWater website at www.dcwater.com for current and upcoming solicitations.
Decedent
May 23, 2014
NOTICE OF
Name of newspaper:
APPOINTMENT,
Afro-American
NOTICE TO
Washington
CREDITORS
Law Reporter
AND NOTICE TO
UNKNOWN HEIRS
Linda E. Graves
Callestine E. Adams Regina Brennon, whose
Personal address is 3352 Baker
Representative Street NE Washington
DC 20019 was appointed
personal representative
TRUE TEST COPY
of the estate of Joseph
REGISTER OF WILLS
Greene, who died on Au17, 2013
a Will,
TYPESET: Tue May 20 gust
14:21:40
EDTwith
2014
and will serve without
05/23, 05/30, 06/06/14
Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs
Superior Court of
whose whereabouts are
the District of
unknown shall enter their
District of Columbia
appearance in this
PROBATE DIVISION
proceeding. Objections
Washington, D.C.
to such appointment (or
20001-2131
to the probate of deAdministration No.
cedent´s will) shall be
2014ADM475
filed with the Register of
Milton Leroy Jones
Wills, D.C., 515 5th
Decedent
Street, N.W., 3rd Floor
Jamison Taylor
Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .
1218 11th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001 20001, on or before
December 6, 2014.
Attorney
Claims against the deNOTICE OF
cedent shall be preAPPOINTMENT,
sented to the underNOTICE TO
signed with a copy to the
CREDITORS
Register of Wills or filed
AND NOTICE TO
with the Register of Wills
UNKNOWN HEIRS
Violet Jones Robertson, with a copy to the underwhose address is 5148 signed, on or before
North Lake Drive NW December 6, 2014, or be
Roanoke Virginia 24019 forever barred. Persons
was appointed personal believed to be heirs or
representative of the legatees of the decedent
estate of Milton Leroy who do not receive a
Jones, who died on copy of this notice by mail
December 2, 2013 with- within 25 days of its first
out a WillEDT
and will
serve publication shall so in14:23:21
2014
with Court supervision. form the Register of
All unknown heirs and Wills, including name,
heirs whose where- address and relationabouts are unknown ship.
shall enter their appear- Date of Publication:
ance in this proceeding. June 6, 2014
Name of newspaper:
Objections to such
appointment shall be Afro-American
filed with the Register of Washington
Law Reporter
Wills, D.C., 515 5th
Street, N.W., 3rd Floor
Regina Brennon
Wa s h i n g t o n , D . C .
Personal
20001, on or before
Representative
November 23, 2014.
Claims against the decedent shall be pre- TRUE TEST COPY
sented to the under- REGISTER OF WILLS
signed with a copy to the TYPESET: Tue Jun 03 12:42:29 EDT 2014
Register of Wills or filed 06/06, 06/13, 06/20/14
with the Register of Wills
Superior Court of
with a copy to the underthe District of
signed, on or before
District of Columbia
November 23, 2014, or
PROBATE DIVISION
be forever barred. PerWashington, D.C.
sons believed to be heirs
20001-2131
or legatees of the deAdministration
No.
cedent who do not re2014ADM292
ceive a copy of this notice
by mail within 25 days of Margaret Idella Baker
its first publication shall Decedent
so inform the Register of Wesley L. Clarke
Wills, including name, 1629 K. Street Ste 300
address and relation- NW
Washington, DC 20006
ship.
Attorney
Date of Publication:
NOTICE OF
May 23, 2014
APPOINTMENT,
Name of newspaper:
NOTICE TO
Afro-American
CREDITORS
Washington
AND NOTICE TO
Law Reporter
UNKNOWN HEIRS
Violet Jones Robertson Leroy K. Baker, whose
Personal address is 4845 Bass
Representative Place SE Washington TYPESET: Tue Jun 03 14:12:33 EDT 2014
DC 20019 was appointed
personal representative
TRUE TEST COPY
of the estate of Margaret
REGISTER OF WILLS
Idella Baker,
who
died on
Maryland Department of
TYPESET: Tue May 20 17:27:27
EDT
2014
January 25, 2014 without
05/23, 05/30, 06/06/14
Housing and Community Development (DHCD)
a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All
Superior Court of
unknown heirs and heirs
Contractual Administrative Officer III
the District of
whose whereabouts are
District of Columbia
Neighborhood Revitalization Grants Manager
unknown shall enter their
PROBATE DIVISION
Recruitment#: 14-999999-413
appearance in this
Washington, D.C.
proceeding. Objections
Filing Deadline: June 30, 2014, 11:59 pm
20001-2131
to such appointment
Salary: $19.44 - $25.12/hour
Administration No.
shall be filed with the
2014ADM259
Register
of
Wills,
D.C.,
B Three Feathers
Work that matters. DHCD is a national leader in community
515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd
Kazemi
Floor Washington, D.C.
development and affordable housing. The Division of
Decedent
20001,
on
or
before
Michelle Lanchester
Neighborhood Revitalization (NR) seeks a positive individual
D
e
c
e
m
b
e
r
6
,
2
0
1
4
.
601 Pennsylvania Ave.
experienced with financial management in the public sector.
Claims
against
the
deNW, Suite 900
cedent shall be preServing as the Grants Manager in NR, this position will priSouth Building
sented to the underWashington DC 20004
marily maintain financial records and process requests for
signed
with
a
copy
to
the
Attorney
payment for the Division’s grant and loan programs. IncumRegister
of
Wills
or
filed
NOTICE OF
with the Register of Wills
bent will assist in the preparation of grant/loan agreements,
APPOINTMENT,
with a copy to the underNOTICE TO
oversee financial coding, maintain HUD’s federal financial
signed, on or before
CREDITORS
assistance information, prepare monthly reports, verify and
December 6, 2014, or be
AND NOTICE TO
reconcile grant balances and oversee the Division’s purforever barred. Persons
UNKNOWN HEIRS
chases. Please visit www.jobaps.com/md to submit an online
Angelique P. Woodson, believed to be heirs or
whose address is 3701 legatees of the decedent
application. EOE
Melrose Ave, Forestville, who do not receive a
copy of this notice by mail
MD 20747 was appointed personal repre- within 25 days of its first
sentative of the estate of publication shall so inB T h r e e F e a t h e r s form the Register of
Kazemi, who died on Wills, including name,